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

Where Imagination Runs Riot: A Defense of

Modern Fantasy

Annarose D. Stewart

Bard College

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

WhereImaginationRunsRiot:

ADefenseofModernFantasy



SeniorProjectsubmittedto:

TheDivisionofLanguagesandLiterature

OfBardCollege



By:

AnnaroseStewart



AnnandaleOnHudson,NewYork

May2016



Acknowledgements



Thankyoutomyprofessors,familyandroommatesforbeingsounderstandingoverthecourse

ofthisproject.



ThankyoutoAlexKoditschekforkeepingmesane.



ThankyoutomyadvisorsNancyLeonardandBradfordMorrowforhelpingmegetthroughmy

careeratBard.



ThankyoutoColeHeinowitzandMariaCecireforhelpwithfindingsources.



ThankyoutoJeremyHallandBetsyCrowleyforhelpwithresearchandcitations.



Thankyoutomyfatherforhelpingmewithlastminutefixes.



Thankyoutomyboardmembersforputtinginthetimetoreadanddiscussmywork.



Butmostofall,thankyoutoKarenSullivan.Thisprojectwouldnotexistwithoutyou.



TableofContents

Introduction

:Let’sTrytoMakeaStoryAboutIt 1

Chapter1:

MovingtheMagic 7

TheHumanWorld 12

TheWorldofMarvels 16

ThePoeticLanguage 21

TheVisualText 24

ReviewsandLetters 26

Conclusion 30

Chapter2:

FantasyGravitatedtotheNurseryWhenitWentOutofFashion 33

LawsofExistence 36

UseofImagery 41

OralityoftheStory 46

ReviewsandLetters 52

Conclusion 55

Chapter3:

WhenWeTaketheGreenfromGrassOurMindAwakes 59

LawsofExistence 60

UseofImagery 64

OralityoftheStory 69

ReviewsandLetters 76

Conclusion 79

Conclusion:

ModernFantasy101:ImaginationUnlimited 85

FiguresReferenced 89

WorksConsulted 93



1

Introduction

Let’sTrytoMakeaStoryAboutIt

Oneevening,J.R.R.Tolkienwasgradingessaysforoneofhisclassesandhestumbled

uponablankpieceofpaperthathadmadeitintothepile.Withoutthinking,Tolkienwrotedown

thefirstthingthatcametohismind:“Inaholeinthegroundtherelivedahobbit.”(TheHobbit)

Tolkienadmitshehadnoideawhatahobbitwasorwhytheyhavetoliveunderground,buthe

decidedtoinvestigatefurther.Indoingso,hewroteoneofthemostfamoustrilogiesofalltime:

TheLordoftheRings.

Thistextwasbuiltfromalinguisticstudy,whichleadtoanextensive

history,whichleadtoanincrediblestory.Thistrilogyredefinedfantasyandbroughttolightthe

sophisticationandscholarshipthatcanbebroughttothegenre.However,thiswasnotthe

beginningoffantasyitself.

Inhisessay“OnFairyStories”,Tolkiendiscussestheconnectionbetweenfantasyand

language.Tolkienarguesthatfantasywasdevelopedatthebeginningoflanguageitself.“The

mindthatthoughtoflight,heavy,grey,yellow,still,swift

alsoconceivedofmagicthatwould

makeheavythingslightandabletofly,turngreyleadintoyellowgold,andthestillrockinto

swiftwater”(Tolkien122).Tolkienexplorestheideathatonceanobjectislabeledwithan

adjective,itallowsforthepossibilityofthefantastic.Whenonelabelsthecolorofgrass‘green’

andthecolorofsky‘blue’thenthepossibilityofgreenskyandbluegrassisalsoconceived.

Oncehumanitygivesalabel,thenitpresentshumanswiththeopportunitytochangethelabelas

itisseparatefromtheinnatestateoftheobject.Theinventionofwordsallowedforhumansto

beginfulfillingtheirdesiretomake.Whentheyassignbluetograssorgreentosky,theyhave

createdtheconceptforaworldinwhichgrassisblueandtheskyisgreen.Therefore,thebirthof



2

fantasydidnothappenwhenaparticularstorywastoldbutoccurredfiveminutesaftertheorigin

oflanguageitself.

Agenresointerconnectedwithhumanity’sinnatedesiresanditsformofcommunication

wouldseemtoholdapaceofveneration,butthisisnotso.Atacertainpointintime,humans

begantobelievethattheykneweverythingabouttheirworld.Theylearnedthattheworldis

roundandtheEarthisnotthecenteroftheuniverse.Astheyexploredtheworld,theylearned

thatdragonsdonotexistandscienceseemedtoprovethatthereisnoanimalthatcanhavefour

legsandwingssimultaneously.Ashumansbegantolearn,theirworldfilledwithbluegrassand

agreenskyseemedchildishandnaive.Storieswerenolongertoldofknightsanddragonsbutof

sophisticatedsocialiteswhocouldexistintheworldhumanityknewsomuchabout.Magicwas

takenovercomebyscience;dragonsmorphedintoaliens.

Duringthistransitionanargumentwasmadeclaimingthatfantasyisescapist;thatwhen

onereadsorthinksofheroesanddragonsoneisavoidingreality.Thisevenleadstothe

assumptionthatifoneconsciouslychosetoreadfantasyinsteadofrealisticnovelsoneis

claimingthatrealityisnotasbeautifulasfantasy.ThelatterisarguedbyGeorgeEliot.Inher

book,AdamBede,

shedefendsrealismbyimplyingthatpeoplewhoenjoyfantasyandromance

struggletoseethebeautyinreality.“Thepencilisconsciousofadelightfulfacilityindrawinga

griffin—thelongertheclaws,andthelargerthewings,thebetter;butthatmarvellousfacility

whichwemistookforgeniusisapttoforsakeuswhenwewanttodrawarealunexaggerated

lion”(234).Inthispassage,Eliotisimplyingthatenjoyingandwritingfantasysomehowinhibits

theabilitytoseeandrepresentthebeautyinreality.However,fantasydoesnotdiscreditor

belittlereality;itgivestheopportunityforimaginationtoflourishwithoutlimitofthephysical



3

boundariesthatexistinreality.Eliotclaimsthattheartistryindrawingagriffinis“mistookas

genius”.Theideathatwritingfantasyiseasywasprovedfalsebyeveryfantasywritersince.

Fantasyhashadtofighttobegivenworthinitself;fantasticaltextsareinterpretedasallegories

forrealityorarelabeledaschildren’sliterature.Writingfantasythatstandsonitsownis

absolutelynoteasy.

WhenwritingaboutVictorianEngland,GeorgeEliotmerelyhadtocreatecharacterswho

shemostlikelywasabletobaseonpeoplesheknew.However,acclaimedfantasywriterslike

WilliamMorris,C.S.LewisandJ.R.R.Tolkienhadtocreateentireworldsbeforetheyeven

begantowritetheirstory.Tolkiencreatedanentirehistoryofhisworld,completewithmultiple

languagesbeforehebegantoinventcharacterslikeFrodoandSam.Tolkienhadtobuildaworld

beforehearrivedattheplacewhereGeorgeEliotbeganherwork.Eliotseemstohave

misinterpretednaturalaseasy;itisnoteasytocreatefantasybutitisnatural.Fantasycamewith

thebeginningoflanguageitself;fantasizingisasnaturaltohumansasspeaking.Fantasizingis

oneofthemostnaturaleventsthathumanscanparticipatein.

In

“OnFairyStories”,Tolkienexplainsthestagesofcreatingfantasy.Thefirstofthese

stagesisImagination.Imaginationisderivedfromthewordimage;itistheabilitytoform

mentalimagesofdifferentthings“Butinrecenttimes,intechnicalnotnormallanguage,

Imaginationhasoftenbeenheldtobesomethinghigherthanthemereimagemaking”(Tolkien

138).TolkienbelievesthatthedefinitionofImaginationmustreturntotheorigin:human’s

abilitytoconceiveofmentalimages.ThenextstageofFantasyaccordingtotolkienis

Expressionwhichgives“toidealcreationstheinnerconsistencyofreality”(138).Expressionis

givinglifetotheimaginedimagessothattheseimagesformtocreateanexistencesincere



4

enoughtobebelieved.TheachievementofthisexpressioniscalledArt.Artis“theoperative

linkbetweenImaginationandthefinalresult,Subcreation”(139).Subcreationisexactlywhat

itsoundslike,itisthecreationofaworldthatisasextensiveandbelievableasreality,butisnot

real.Theproductofthisprocessandthedrivingforcebehinditisencompassedintheword:

Fantasy,which“embrace[s]boththeSubcreativeArtinitselfandaqualityofstrangenessand

wonderintheExpression,derivedfromtheImage”(139).TheSubcreativeArtistheworldthat

iscreatedandthe“qualityofstrangenessandwonder”istheessenceoftheexperienceofreading

fantasy.

Becauseofthisfoundation,TolkienarguesthatFantasyisthepurestartformbecauseitis

themostdirectlyrelatedtoImagination.TolkienarguesthatFantasybecomesmisinterpretedas

dreamingandhallucination,thefirstofwhichwasEliot’sinterpretation.Eliotbelievesthat

Fantasytakesawayfromthebeautyofrealitybypresentingseeminglysuperiorpossibilities;

Fantasy’sgoalisnottopresentthereaderwithanalternativetorealityitisanexerciseinthe

beautyandpowerofthehumanimagination.ForFantasytobesuccessfulithastobeunderstood

withouthavingtosuspenddisbelief;however,itisnotintendedtobeasuperiorreality.Instead

ofsubtractingorescapingfromthebeautyandharshnessoftheworld,“Itawakensandenlarges

theminditselfbyrenderingitthereceptacleofathousandunapprehendedcombinationsof

thought…[it]liftstheveilfromthehiddenbeautyoftheworld,andmakesfamiliarobjectsbeas

iftheywerenotfamiliar”(Shelley).Thewordswrittenindefenceofpoetry,applytotheway

thatfantasyfunctionsaswell.Fantasydoesnottakeawayfromthebeautyofrealitybutopens

mindstoanewwayofseeingtheworld.



5

Somemaysaythatthepurposeofliteratureistoexamineorunderstandahighertruth

thatcannotbeexplainedthroughanyothermedium.Literaturemayhaveevolvedtofulfillthat

purposebutthatpurposewasnotpresentattheorigin.Storyoriginatedasawaytoentertainand

bringpeopletogether.Thisistheelementofliterature,whichfantasyhascontinued.Everyother

genreofliteratureclaimsahighertruth,eitheramoraloratimeperiodoraworld,butfantasy

doesnotmakethisclaim.Instead,itsubsistsmerelyonthebeautyoftheimage.Theworthof

fantasyisnotfoundedinitsabilitytoteachitsreaderbuttoentertain.Thisaestheticoffantasyis

whatkeepsitfrombeingtakenseriously;itisseenasawasteofacademictime.Thereisso

muchthatcanbestudiedinthefantasygenre:allegories,influences,commentary,juxtaposition

etc.Thereissomuchthatfantasycangivetotheacademiccommunitybutfirst,whatneedstobe

understood,isthatfantasydoesnotneedtheseinterpretationstobevaluable.Afantasticaltext

shouldnotneedtobehundredsofyearsoldtobetakenseriously.Thefirststeptounderstanding

fantasyistoacknowledgethatfantasydoesnotneedacademiatosurvive.Theinherentworthof

thesetextsisthemasteryoftheworldandtheexperiencethereaderhaslivinginit.Academia

strugglestounderstandatextthathasworthwithoutbeinganalyzed.Onceacademiaunderstands

howmuchpotentialthesetextshave,thentheycanbegintodissectthemanylevelsof

interpretationavailableinthesestories.

Thisprojectwillusethreevitalfantasticalworkstodiscoverthreedifferentwaysthat

fantasticaltextscanbeinterpretedandanalyzed.Eachelementwillshowdifferentqualitiesof

thegenreasawholeandwilldemonstratehowthetextscanbeunderstoodinanacademic

setting.Throughthisanalysis,boththeacademicworthandtheinherentvalueofthetextswill

becomeapparent.Toachievethisendtherearetermsthatneedtobedefined.



6

Inthisessay,therearetwodifferentwordsthatwillbeusedtoexplainmagical

phenomenon:marvelandmagic.Forthepurposeofthisessay,marvelisasupernaturalobjector

being:itisanoun.Magicisasupernaturalactthatabeingdoes:itisanaction.Anexampleofa

marvelisanelforamagicringoratalkingbeaver.Anexampleofmagicwouldbeturningalion

intostone,orbringingflowersbacktolife,orturningapersoninvisible.

Eachofthefollowingchaptersarededicatedtoaspecifictext.Thefirstchapterfocuses

onTheWoodBeyondtheWorld

byWilliamMorris.ThischapteranalyzesthewaythatMorris

buildshisworldtoserveasabackgroundforhishigherconcerns:remindinghisreadersofhow

itfelttoreadamedievalromanceandtoreestablishthebeautyofpuremagicinaworldthathas

beendisenchanted.ThesecondchapterfocusesonTheLion,theWitchandtheWardrobe

by

C.S.Lewis.Itinvestigatestheconnectionbetweenfantasyandchildren’sliterature.Lewis’s

workalsoservesasabeautifulexampleofhowfantasycanbeallegoricalwithoutlosingthe

inherentbeautyoftheworlditdescribes.Thethirdandfinalchapter,analyzesTheFellowshipof

theRing

byJ.R.R.Tolkien.Thistextexemplifieshowcomplexandmasterfulfantasycanbe.

Tolkiendemonstratesthatbyfullyunderstandingthewaythatthegenrefunctions,itispossible

tocreateaworldsodetailedandwellconstructedthatthefinalresultisjustshyofreality.This

essaywillprovethatfantasydoesnottakeawayfromreality,itsimplyallowsthemindto

investigateotherpossibilities.



7

Chapter1

MovingtheMagic



Fantasy,asanestablishedgenre,hasbeenaroundforlessthan100years.However,this

isnothowlongfantasticalliteraturehasexisted.ThetermfantasyappliestothegenreModern

Fantasythatreallycameintofruitioninthe1950’swithJ.R.R.Tolkien’sthreevolumework

TheLordoftheRings

.However,itisimpossibletodefinewhenthistypeofliteratureoriginated.

PerhapsitwasinventedbyWilliamMorriswhowrotethefirstsecondworldfantasticalprose

narrative.ButbeforehimtherewasFrankenstein

byMaryShelley

andevenearlier:Gulliver’s

Travels

byJonathanSwift.BeforethesetextstherewasalsoTheFaerieQueene

byEdmund

Spenser

whichwasprecededbyOrlandoFurioso

byLudovicoAriosto.Whichare,themselves,

comingfromtheArthuriantraditionwithtextslikeSirGawainandtheGreenKnight

.Butthese

wereinfluencedbyoldenglishtaleslikeBeowulf

.Andeveryfantasticaltextwrittenafterthe500

bceisinfluencedbytheHomerictradition.Thisdemonstratesthattheoriginsofthisgenreare

impossibletofind.

Romance,nowknownasChivalricRomancetodistinguishitfrommodernromance

novels,ischaracterizedbymanydifferentelements.TypicallyaChivalricRomancewould

includeknightsonaquestandusuallyinvolvedaaristocraticloveaffair.Thisfocusonchivalry

andcourtlinessistypicallywhatcharacterizesaromance.However,manyromancesinclude

fantasticelementsormarvels.Thesemarvelscanbeintegraltotheplotorjustincludedinashort

scene.TheGreenKnightinSirGawainandtheGreenKnight

isanexampleofamarvelbecause

heisabletogethisheadchoppedoffandstilllive.However,sometimesthereislessemphasis

onthemarvellikeinLancelotandtheCart

byChretiendeTroyeswhereadwarfappearsand



8

testsLancelot’sloveforGuinevere.Thesemarvelsarenotquestionedbythecharactersinthe

story,theyareacceptedanddealtwithaccordingly.Thecharacter’sacceptanceofmagicinthe

humanworldiswhatgivesromancestheirbadreputationaftertheenlightenment.

Sinceaboutthe1500’s,fantasticalliteraturehasnotgainedthepraisethatitdeserves.

ThroughouttheEnlightenmentperiod,longformfantasticalworks,typicallycalledromances,

werefrowneduponandconsideredlowliterature.Oneofthemostfamoustextsfromthisera,

DonQuixote,

isaboutamanwhogetssoobsessedwithromancesthathegoesinsaneand

believesheislivinginone.

Afterthescientificrevolutiontheworldbecamelessmagical.Peoplestoppedbelieving

oldstoriesandfolklore.Therewerenewscientificreasonsforpreviouslymagicalphenomena.

Thistrendisreferredtoas‘disenchantment’,awordcoinedbyFriedrichSchillerbutputinto

practicebyMaxWeberfamouslyinalecturegivenin1917.“Thefateofourtimesis

characterizedbyrationalizationandintellectualization,andaboveallbythe‘disenchantmentof

theworld’”(Smith).Thiswasahardhitforromances,whichrelyonthemagicoftheworld.

Peoplebeganconsideringthemnaiveandjuvenile.Romancesdidnotstopbeingread,butthey

becameguiltypleasuresreadinthecornerofalibraryandnotopenlytalkedaboutinupstanding

societyeventhoughmanypeoplewerereadingthem.

Duringthelatenineteenthcentury,therewasasurgeofgenrefictionthattookdifferent

elementsofromancesandalteredthemtobemorerealistic.Adventurestoriesbecamepopular,

likeRobertLouisStevenson’sbooks,thattooktheplotofromancesandremovedthemagic

leavingtheaudiencewithanamazingquestnarrativesthatcouldtechnicallyhappeninreality.

Therewasalsoariseinsupernaturalgothicnovelswhereauthorstendedtoseparatethemselves



9

fromthetext.InTurnoftheScrew

,

HenryJamesseparateshimselftwofoldfromhisstory.He

usesaframingdeviceofstorytellingandalso,thestoryissaidtobeadiaryofagoverness.This

preventstheauthorfromtakingresponsibilityofthesupernaturalelementsofthetextand

providesthegoverness’ssanityasanexcuse.Adifferenttypeofexcuseisusedinsciencefiction

wherethefantasticalelementsareexplainedawaywithscience.H,G,Wells,playedalargepart

inmakingthisinterpretationpopular.BooksofhislikeTheWaroftheWorlds

andalsobooksby

otherauthorslikeFrankenstein

byMaryShelley,usescienceasanexcuseformagicand

marvels.TheWaroftheWorlds

usessciencetoexcusetheuseofotherspeciesandspaceships.

Frankenstein

usessciencetoexcuseasuperhumanmonster.Whilemedievalromanceseemedto

havedisappeared,therewassomeonewhowastryingtokeepitalive:WilliamMorris.

WilliamMorrisisamanofmanytalents:asuccessfultextiledesigner,author,translator

andsocialactivist.Whilethesedifferenttitlesseemunconnectedtherewasacommonthreadof

logicandprinciplesthroughoutMorris’swork:conservation,accessibilityandtheneedtomake

lifebeautiful.ThecombinationoftheseprincipleswasevidentinMorris’stextilework.He

wantedeverythinginhislifetobebothusefulandbeautifulandhefocusedhisenergyonthe

objectsinhishouse.Oneofhismostfamouscreations,thatisstillmanufactured,istheMorris

chair.Thisreclinablechairisnotonlystunningbutalsopracticalforbothworkandrelaxation.

Hisobsessionwithbeautyalsoleadhimtomanypursuitsinconservation,focusingmainlyon

architecture.HefoundedtheSocietyfortheProtectionofAncientBuildingsorSPAB.This

focusonconservationseemstohaveflowedoverintohisliterarypursuitsattheendofhislife.

Inthe1890’swhenMorris’shealthwasdeclining,hebeganwritingwhatarenowknownashis

ProseRomances.



10

TheProseRomanceswereunusualbecausenoonewaswritingnewmedievalstyle

romancesatthispointintime.Earlierinthenineteenthcenturytherewasanewsurgeof

Arthurianlegends,whichleadtotheIdyllsoftheKing

byAlfredLordTennyson.

While

Arthurianromancesseemtohavegainedmorepopularity,othertypesofromanceswith

fantasticalelementswerenolongerwrittenexceptforMorris’sProseRomances.However,the

mostinfluentialaspectofanyofMorris’sworkisthatheinventedotherworldsforhisstoryto

takeplace.Hisproseromancewrittenin1894,TheWoodBeyondtheWorld

,isthefirst

secondworldfantasyproseromancewritteninEnglish.Indoingthis,hewasabletoconserve

thefantasticalnatureofromanceswhilewritingforanenlightenedaudience.Bymovingthe

magictoanotherworld,hisstorywasnotatwarwiththeculture'sobsessionwithempiricism,

whichstatesthatallknowledgecomesfromexperience.Thefocusonexperiencemadeit

difficultforpeopletobelieveinmagicintheirworld.Unlikeotherauthorswhousedrealismand

sciencetohidethemagicalelementsoftheirtext,Morrissimplymovedthemagictoaplace

wherethelogicoftheworldacceptedthefantasticalphenomena.

Thisdecisionopenedadoorforcountlessfantasywritersafterhimandpavedthewayfor

themodernfantasygenretobeestablished.TwowriterswhowereinfluencedbyMorris’s

writingswereC.S.LewisandJ.R.R.Tolkien,twoauthorsthatpracticallydefinethegenreof

modernfantasy.Placingthesethreeauthorssidebysideitiscleartoseetheevolutionoftheway

thatfantasyfunctions.TheWoodBeyondtheWorld

isdifferentthantheworkfromeitherof

thesetwolaterauthors,becauseitfunctionslikeprosepoetry.TheWoodBeyondtheWorld

is

influencedbymedievalromances,butitseemsalmostthatMorristookthemarvelsfrom

romancesandplacedtheminaworldoftheirown.Thismarvelousworld,isthesettingofa



11

beautifulprosepoemthatexpressestheessenceofmarvelsastheywerefoundinmedieval

romances.ThepoeticalnatureofthistextallowsforMorristofocusonthematicissuesrather

thanissuesofplotandcharacter.InthefirstsectionofthestorywhenWalter,themaincharacter,

isinthehumanworld,thecharacters’motivationsandrelationshipsarecleartothereader.

However,whenhepassesintotheworldofmarvels,theplotbecomeslessimportant.Thisis

whenMorrisbeginstouselanguageandlogicfrompoeticromances.

Anothercharacteristicofthistextthatseparatesitfrommanyotherfantasticalworksis

theliterarynatureofthetext.Fantasticalliteraturestemsfromanoraltraditionthatcanbetraced

backtotheoriginsofliteratureitself.However,Morris’stextisnoticeablytextual.Allofits

elements,fromthevisualnatureofthebookitselftothelanguageusedremindthereaderhow

thisbookisabook.Thenonoralityofthetextisreflectedinthepoetry;thelackofdefinable

narrativeemphasizesthatthebookshouldbeseenandnotheard.Oraltextsareactionbased

becauseitisdifficulttofollowcomplexideasorpoeticalanalogieswhenyouarelisteningtoa

text.ThepoeticalelementsofMorris’stextemphasizesthatthefocusisnottheplotorthestory

buttheessenceofromance.

ThedifferencebetweenstoryandpoetrycanclearlybeseeninthewaythatMorriswrites

aboutWalter’sjourney.ThestoryfollowsabasicnarrativestructurewhileWalterisinthe

humanworld.However,whenhetravelstothenewworldtheplotbecomeslessclear.The

charactersdonothavenamesandtheirhistoryisneverexplained.Thefocusofthissectionison

themarvelsandtheattractionsbetweenWalterandtheMaidortheLady.



12

TheHumanWorld

In“TheFantasticImagination”,GeorgeMacDonalddiscussesthebalanceoflogicin

fantasyworlds.Hedescribeshowtheauthor,onceaworldiscreated,muststandbyasetofrules

orlawthatdefineshisnewlycreatedworld.“Tobeabletoliveamomentinanimaginedworld,

wemustseethelawsofitsexistenceobeyed”(65).Theaudiencecannotplacethemselvesina

worldthattheydonotunderstand;ifthelogicofaworldisnotfollowedthenthediscordant

eventspullthereaderoutoftheworldandruintheirsuspensionofdisbelief.

The‘lawofexistence’establishesanorm,whichisthefoundationofanystory.What

makesastoryinterestingisconflict.Withinastory,conflictistheupsetoftheeverydayorthe

norm;withoutconflictthereisnostory.Inaddition,tohaveaconflictthereneedstobeanorm

establishedtoupset.Therefore,whenMacDonaldwritesofthe‘lawsofexistence’heis

acknowledgingtheneedforanestablishednormforanyformofconflicttoarise.Withoutan

establishednorm,theaudiencewouldnotrecognizeaconflictandtherefore,therewouldbeno

story.

Whenwritingrealisticfiction,itnotaspressingtoestablishanormbecausealarge

portionofthenormiswhattheaudiencewouldalreadyknowfromlivinginsociety.However,

thisnormisstillnecessarybecauseifoneislivinginmoderndayEnglandandreadingabout

sixteenthcenturyIndia,onemightnotknowhoweverydaypeoplewouldfunctionorwhatthey

wouldconsiderabnormal.However,inbothsocieties,ifapersonstartsflyingthroughtheair,or

isabletorejuvenateflowersthathavewiltedanddied,thiswouldbeconsideredsupernatural.

Thisisnottrueoffantasticalliterature;whenwritingaboutaworldthathasbeencreatedforthe

purposeofaparticularstory,onehastoestablishwhetherflyingpeoplearenormalorabnormal



13

forthatworld.Perhaps,flyingisthenormbutwalkingisconsideredincredibleandwhen

someonestepsonthegroundtheyareconsideredtobesupernatural.Becauseoftheaudience’s

lackofknowledgeaboutthenormalcyofaworldinwhichtheydonotlive,theauthoroffantasy

hastobemorethoroughanddetailedaboutwhatisnormalintheirworld.TheWoodBeyondthe

World

doesnotnecessarilyreachaharmoniousbalancebetweenwhattheaudienceknows,and

whathemustconveyabouttheworldthroughthetext.

Thefirstsectionofthestorytakesplaceinthehumanworld,andthereforedoesnotneed

muchexposition.Walter,themaincharacter,encountersproblemsthatneednoexplanation

becausetheaudiencealreadyunderstandsthattheeventsconflictwiththeirnorm.Waltermarries

abeautifulwomanwhohebelievesloveshim,butquicklyoverthecourseofsixmonthsitis

clearthatshehateshim.Thisconflict,isobvioustothereaderwithoutmuchdescription.The

normisforamarriedcoupletoloveeachother;therefore,thefactthatWalter’swifehateshimis

aconflict,whichmakesWaltermiserable.

Becauseofthisconflict,Walterleaveshometoescapehismisery.Overthecourseofhis

journey,Walterhasthreevisionsofthesamethreeextraordinarycharacters.Thefirsttimethat

Walterseesthem,itisdescribedingreatdetail.Thecharactersarenotintroducedaspeople;in

fact,theauthoravoidscallingthemanythingandreferstothemsimplyas“thesewerethree”(6).

Thecharactersarenotdescribedasmagical,butaredistinctfromanyothercharacterinthestory

becauseofthedepthandnatureoftheirdescriptions.Thisisthefirsttimeinthetextthatany

character’sappearanceisdescribedingreatdetail.EvenWalter’sappearanceismerelydescribed

asa“fairfacedman,yellowhaired,tallandstrong”(TheWoodBeyondtheWorld

,1972,1).In

contrast,thefirstcharacterofthevisionisdescribedingreatdetail.Thedwarfisdescribedas



14

“darkbrownofhue&hideous,withlongarms&earsexceedinggreatanddogteeththatstuck

outlikethefangsofawildbeast”(TheWoodBeyondtheWorld,

1972,6).Thiscreatureis

clearlydifferentfromalltheothercharacterssofarinthetext;heisdescribedingreatdetail,and

thedescriptionspointoutallthecharacteristicsofthedwarfthatdifferfromatypicalhuman.

Eventhoughtheauthordoesnotexpressthehumanlikecharacteristicsofthecreature,

theyareimpliedthroughtwospecificwords:dwarfandarms.Theworddwarfimpliesahuman

creaturethatisofshorterstature.Therearemanydifferentdwarvesinterpretedinliterature,but

therearealwayshumancreaturesthatareshorterthanthetypicalhuman.Inadditiontothis,the

humanimageisreinforcedbytheworld‘arm’.Thereareveryfewcreaturesotherthanhumans

thathavearms,andthewordarmimpliesthatthecreatureiswalkingontwolegs,ratherthan

crawlingoranyothermovement.Whiletheauthordetailsthewaysinwhichthedwarflooks

differentfromatypicalhuman,thereisnoneedtodescribethewaysinwhichtheyaresimilar

becausethatisassumedinthelanguagethattheauthoruses.

Thesecondofthethreecharactersisstillgivenmoredescriptionthanwasgivento

Walter,butsheseemstobehuman.Sheislabeledasamaidenandtheelementsofherphysique

thattheauthorchoosestofocusonarehumantraits:“greyeyed,brownhaired,withlipsfull&

red,slimandgentleofbody”(TheWoodBeyondtheWorld

,1972,7).Whilethesetraitsare

clarified,theyarenotdescribedindetail.Theonlyelementsofherphysicalcharacteristicsthat

weredescribedaretheelementsthatshiftfrompersontoperson.Itisnotstatedthatshehastwo

eyesorwhatshapetheyare,theauthormerelydescribestheircolor.Unlikethedwarf,thelength

ofherarmsortheshapeofherteetharenotexaminedbecausethenatureofherarmsandteeth



15

arenotimportant.Theassumedimagethatthereaderwouldhaveofaslimmaiden’sarmsis

accurateenoughthattheauthordoesnotfeelthatitrequiresextradescription.

ThethirddescriptiondoesnotdetailanyparticularpartoftheLady’sphysique.Instead,

therearesweepingexpressionsofherstateliness:“soradiantofvisage&gloriousofraiment,

thatitwerehardtosaywhatlikeshewas”(TheWoodBeyondtheWorld,

1972,7).This

characterisbeyonddescription;Morrisdoesnotseparatehertraitsandanalyzethemlikehedid

withhertwocompanions.However,thisdoesnotmeanthatthereadercannotpictureher;the

word‘lady’impliesafemalehumanwhoisupperclassandsophisticated.Theseconceptsare

supportedbytheotherdescriptors:tall,stately,radiant,gloriousofraiment,andbeauty.The

Ladyistallandstately,whichimpliesanelegantgraceandfeelingofimportance.Her

descriptionasradiantandherclothingpaintapictureofarichupperclasswomanwhohasa

beautifulcomplexion.Unliketheothercreatures,nothingaboutherpersonisspecifiedbesides

herheight,thereforesheistheepitomeofwhatthereaderbelievesisaperfectlady.

EventhoughthedescriptionofboththeLadyandtheDwarfseemtoimplysomekindof

abnormality,thereisnoexplicitmagicatworkduringthefirstvision.Walterseesthree

interestingcharactersgettingonaboatatthedocks.However,onhiswayhomefromtheharbor,

Walterseesthesethreeagain.Thisisthereader’sfirstexposuretosomethingcompletelyoutof

theordinary.Thesecondvisionisanothereventthatisclearlyagainstthenorm.Whilethe

miserableconditionthatWalterhaswithhiswifeisaconflict,itisaconflictagainstthenormof

relationships;thesecondvisionisthefirsttimewherethereaderisexposedtoaconflictagainst

thenormoftheworld.Itisthefirstpointwherefantasymakesitswayintothestory:it“seemed

foramomentoftimethathebeheldthosethreecomingoutdownthestepsofstoneintothe



16

street..hestoodstilltoabidetheircomingandlookedtowardthem,lo!therewasnothingbefore

him”(TheWoodBeyondtheWorld

,1972,9).Inthismoment,Walterisunawarewhetherthe

charactersare‘childrenofAdam’orsimplyfromadream.For,heseesthemonland,nearhis

house,whenhehadjustwatchedthemsailawayfromtheharbor.Inadditiontotheodd

circumstances,Walter’simageofthemvanisheswhentheyareabouttoapproachhim.This

impliesthatheisseeingavisionofthem.ItisyetunclearwhetherthisvisionisfromWalter’s

imaginationorthroughsomeotherforce.However,whatiscleartothereaderthatthistypeof

visionisnotnormalandeitherWalterisbeginningtogocrazy,orthereissomething

extraordinaryhappening.

TheWorldofMarvels

OnceWalterembarksonhisjourney,itisclearthathecannotletgooftheimageofthose

threecharacters.Thisobsessiongrowswhenheseesthethreeyetagainonhisjourney.However,

hisdreamsofadventurearecrushedwhenWalterhearsthathisfatherhasbeenkilledbyhis

wife’sfamily.Becauseofthisconflict,Walterneedstotravelbackhometosettlehisfather’s

accountsandpossiblytoavengehisfather’smurder.However,agreatstormhitstheshipand

theyarethrowncompletelyoffcourse.Theyfinallyarriveatashorethattheydonotrecognize.

Astheshipapproachesthisnewland,theynoticethatthelandlookshabitableandtheonlything

thatseemsstrangeis“theyknewnocausewhythatlandshouldnotbebuilded,thoughitwerein

thefaroutlands”(TheWoodBeyondtheWorld,

1972,27).Thisconfusionisthefirstsignthat

somethingisoutoftheordinary.

Whenamancomesoutoftheonlyhouseandapproachesthemheexplainsthatheisthe

onlyhumanor‘sonofAdam’inthatland.Themanthengoesontomentiontheothercreatures



17

wholiveinthisland:the‘Bears’.“Astotheirbodilyfashion,itisaltogethermanlike,savethat

theybeoneandallhigherandbiggerthanmost.Fortheybebearsonlyinname;theybeanation

ofhalfwildmen”(29).ThephysiqueoftheBearsisclearlyestablished:theyarewildmenthat

aremuchlargerthantheaveragehuman;indeed,theBearsaresimplygiants.Again,becausethe

Bearsaredescribedasmanlikethereisnoneedtogointodetailaboutwhattheylooklike.Itis

notnecessarytospecifyotheraspectsoftheirphysique,likewasnecessarywiththeDwarf,

becausethereader’simageofaman,beitanabnormallylargeman,issufficient.

Soonafterarriving,Walterdesirestoexplorethelanditselfandabandonstheshipand

crewtotravelthroughapassinthemountains.Aftertravelingforafewdays,Walterhearsan

incrediblenoise:“astrangenoiseofroaringandbraying,notverygreat,butexceedingfierceand

terrible,andnotliketothevoiceofanybeastthatheknew”(TheWoodBeyondtheWorld

,1972,

54).Thisnoiseisclearlynotasoundthatonewouldencounterinthehumanworldbecause

Walterclarifiesthatitisnotasoundthatcouldbemadefromabeastthatheknows.However,

thesoundisdescribedintermsofwhattheaudiencewouldalreadyknow‘roaring’and

‘braying’.Thisfollowsthelogicthatthereaderwasintroducedtowhenthemandiscussesthe

Bears:thisworldhascreaturesthatdonotexistinthehumanworld.

ShortlyafterWalterhearsthenoise,thedwarfappears“whoseimagehehadseenbefore”

(TheWoodBeyondtheWorld,

1972,55).Itseemsthatthisisnotanothervisionbecausethe

dwarfbeginstospeak:“thedwarfsentoutthatfearfulharshvoiceagain;butthistimeWalter

couldmakeoutwordstherein&knewthatthecreaturespoke”(TheWoodBeyondtheWorld

,

1972,55).Thestructureofthisdescriptionimpliesthatthedwarfismakingthesamehorrible

noisebutnowWaltercanunderstandhim.ItisunclearhowWaltercanunderstandthenoise



18

now,theuseoftheword‘knew’seemstoimplythatthecreatureisnotspeakingwordsbut

Waltercanunderstandhim.Thereseemstohavebeensomesortoftranslationbetweenthefirst

noiseandthesecond,becausenowWaltercanunderstandthedwarf.

OnceWalterarrivesatthisnewworld,itisnecessaryfortheauthortoestablisha‘lawof

existence’otherwisetheplotmaybelost.Thisseemstobetheproblemthatoccursduring

Walter’sstayatthehouseoftheLady.Thefocusofthetextseemstobeonthemarvelsofthe

worldandthebeautyofthemagic.However,becauseofthelackoflogicalfoundation,itis

difficulttofollowthebasicrelationshipsbetweenthecharacters;therefore,thespecificitiesof

theplotgetlost.Thereisanotherforceatworkhere.Morrisseemstobeusingthisworldandthe

plottoengagewithagrandertheme:theconservationofhowmagicfunctionedinromances.

ThroughtheuseofthelanguageandthewaythatMorrisdesignedthetexttolooklikean

illuminatedmanuscript,itseemsthatMorrisistryingtorevitalizetheessenceofhowmarvels

existedinromances.

Inhisessay‘“OnStories”,C.S.Lewisdiscusseshowstoriesareameanstoanend;the

authorwritesastorybecauseitisthebestwaytoconveyaconceptorideaheneedstodealwith.

Lewiswrites:

Tobestoriesatalltheymustbeseriesofevents:butitmustbeunderstoodthat

thisseriestheplot

,aswecallitisonlyreallyanetwherebytocatchsomething

else.Therealthememaybe,andperhapsusuallyis,somethingthathasno

sequenceinit,somethingotherthanaprocessandmuchmorelikeastateor

quality.(18)



19

Theemphasisonthemeisnecessarytoexpresstheoverarchingmeaningofthetext.Thistheme

illustrateswhatmotivatedtheauthortowritethisstory.InTheWoodBeyondtheWorld

,Morris

seemstohaveextractedthemostmarvelouselementsofromancesandplacedtheminaworldof

theirown.Histhemeherebeingtheconservationoftheessenceofmarvelinmedievalromances.

However,whenaddressingbothMacdonald’sargumentforthenecessityofthe‘lawsof

existence’andLewis’sargumentonthenecessityforclarityoftheoverarchingtheme,it

becomesobviousthatthereneedstobeabalance.

Thenecessityofanoverarchingthemethatgivesweightandpurposetoatextcannotbe

discredited.Thiselementofauthorshipcanbevitaltoapieceofliterature.However,whenthere

isnofoundationforthisthemetoreston,iftheplotisnotpresentenoughtosupportthismotif,

thenthereaderwillnothaveaccesstothetheme.Theplotandcharacterrelationshipsisthetool

throughwhichthereaderisabletounderstandandappreciatethetheme.AsC.S.Lewiswrites

theplotisa‘netwherebytocatchsomethingelse’.Theplotisnotnecessarilythefocusofthe

textbutifthereisno‘net’thereisnohopeonunderstandingtheoverarchingtheme.

OnceWalterenterstheLady’shouse,Morrisdoesnothavetheluxuryofrelyingon

Englishnormsanymore.Thislackofestablishmentbecomesglaringlyapparentwhenthereader

attemptstodeciphertherelationshipsbetweenthefourcharactersthatWalterencountersatthe

house.Relationshipsbetweencharactersarecrucialelementsofastory;inrealisticfiction,

relationshipsarethefoundationoftheplot.However,thewaythatMorrischosetodisplayand

usethecharactersandthemarvelsofthestory,makeitdifficulttounderstandtheintricaciesof

theplot.



20

Thereisaspecificwaythatmarvelsfunctionedinmedievalromances.Marvelswould

existinthecontextoftherealworld,typicallyEnglandorFrance.Theywouldbeapartofthe

journeyoranobstacleonthehero’squest.Thehero,whotypicallywasaknight,wouldbeonhis

waytoachievealoftygoalandonthewayhewouldmeetamarvelthatcouldeitherhelphimor

hinderhim. Themarvelstendtobecrucialtotheplotofthestory.InLancelotandtheCart

,

Lancelot’smostdetrimentalmistakeishesitatingbeforegettingintothecartthatthedwarf

drove.TheLadyoftheLakeisaprominentcharacterinmanystories,mostimportantly,inone

versionofthemyth,shegivesArthurtheswordExcalibur.Thesesmallyetvitalrolesaretypical,

buttherearealsostorieswherethemarvelouscreaturesfunctionasthequestitself.TheQuestfor

theHolyGrailisacommonthemeinArthurianliterature.Thisquestwasthefocusofvarious

Arthuriantellingswheremanyknightsattemptedtoacquirethiswondrousobject.Theentireplot

ofSirGawainandtheGreenKnight

isSirGawainattemptingtodefeatthisknightwhois

completelygreenandcansurvivewhenhisheadischoppedcleanoff.

Themarvelsinthesetalesarecrucialtotheplot,buttheyaresupportedbycourtlyloveor

chivalrousactions.Lancelotistryingtosavehislovesohedoesnotquestionthedwarfandgets

intothecart.SirGawainisfollowingtheetiquetteofabeheadinggame;therulesstatedbythe

GreenKnightsaythatGawainmustreturnandallowtheGreenKnighttoattempttobehead

Gawaininayearandaday.Becauseofhishonorandhispromise,Gawainhastofollowthese

rules.Inthesetwoinstances,themarvelisnotquestionedordiscussedbutisdealtwith

accordingtowhatneedstobedone.Medievalromancestakeplacepartiallyinacourtsetting,

whichthecontemporaryreaderswouldbeaccustomedto.However,becausetheworldofThe

Marvelscouldbecreaturesorobjects.TheHolyGrailisamarvelbutsoistheLadyoftheLakeora

dragon.Amarvelissomethingthatdefiesthelawsofnatureandcouldbepartofthejourneyorcouldbethe

objectsoughtforonajourney.



21

WoodBeyondtheWorld

isnotinEurope,thereaderdoesnothaveanormalreadyestablished

whenreadingthetext.

OnceWalterarrivesinthemarvelousworldthereisnolongeranemphasisonplot;the

storybecomesmorepoetic.Thefunctionofthebookisnolongertoarticulateacertainstory,but

toexpresstheessentialbeautyofthemostfabulousaspectsoftheartintheMiddleAges.This

expressionisrepresentedinboththepoeticallanguageofthepoemandthevisualnatureofthe

bookandthetextitself.

ThePoeticLanguage

WhileTheWoodBeyondtheWorld

isclearlyanarrativebecauseofthestructureandthe

waythatthetextfunctions,thelanguagethatMorrisusesispoetic.Themostobvious

characteristicofMorris’slanguageisthearchaicnatureofhissentences.Thereareafewways

thatheestablishesthisaesthetic:usingobsoletewords,usingwordsthataretypically

monosyllabicandAngloSaxoninorigin,andusingunusualwordorders.InRobertBoenig’s

introductiontoTheWoodBeyondtheWorld

,hediscussestheuseofarchaiclanguageandhow

MorrisseemstobeemulatingmanyofMalory’slanguagetraits.

NowthiswasthelastcountrywheretotheKatherinewasboun;sotherethey

abodesometenmonthsindailychaffer,andinpleasuringtheminbeholdingall

thattherewasofrareandgoodly,&makingmerrywiththemerchantsandthe

townsfolk,andthecountryfolkbeyondthegates,andWalterwasgrownasbusy

andgayastrongyoungmanisliketobe.(Morris13)

ThisquoteexemplifiesthemultiplewaysthatMorrisestablisheshisarchaiclanguage.



22

Therearetwowordsthatwouldbeconsideredarchaicatthistime‘boun’and‘chaffer’.‘Boun’

means‘tosetout,go”and‘chaffer’means‘trade,buyingandselling’.‘Boun’hadchanged

spellingsbutwasstillbeingusedoccasionallyatMorris’stimeas‘bown’.However,Morris’s

useofthearchaicspellingimpliesthathewasattemptingtoinvokeanolderusage.Chaffering

wasatermstillusedwhenMorriswaswritingbutthenoun‘chaffer’,asitisusedinthetext,

wasobsolete.Eventhoughthesetermsarenolongerinpractice,theydonotdistractfromthe

reading.Morriswastalentedingivingenoughcontextcluestounderstandthemeaningofthe

wordwhilestillperceivingitsarchaicorigins.

Theabovequoteincludesmanywordsthatarenotmonosyllabic;however,Morris’s

intentionisstillclear.Thereareonlytwowordsthatdonotsoundliketheyarederivedfromthe

shortbluntAngloSaxonlanguage:Katherineandpleasuring.‘Pleasure’comesfroma

combinationofAngloNormanandMiddleFrenchinfluences.However,eventheotherthree

syllablewordinthequoteisfromanAngloSaxonetymology.‘Beholding’comesfromtheOld

Saxon‘bihaldan’.

Also,Morris’schoicetousewordslike‘folk’insteadof‘people’showshis

interestinkeepingthelanguagesimilartoMiddleandOldEnglish,whichwaslessaffectedby

Frenchinfluences. 

ThearchaicwordorderthatMorrisusesfrequentlyinhistextisexemplifiedinthe

sentence“andinpleasuringtheminbeholdingallthattherewasofrareandgoodly”.Theorder

ofthatphraseisinteresting.Insteadofsaying‘beholdingallthatwasrareandgoodly’Morris

writes‘alltherewasofrareandgoodly’.Thisphrasingwouldtypicallybefollowedwithanoun

like‘make’or‘origin’,forasitisnowtheadjectives‘rare’and‘goodly’donothaveanounto



23

describe.However,thisusageagaindoesnottakeawayfromthemeaningofthetext.Itisclear

thatMorrisisdiscussingthebeautifulthingsthatthecharacterswouldencounterinthiscountry.

ThisarchaicsentencestructureandsyntaxcanbeseeninThomasMalory’sLeMorte

d’Arthur

.AnotherelementofMorris’swritingthatseemstostemfromMaloryistheadditive

natureofthesentences.Thesentencesarequitelongandarecontinuedwiththeuseof‘and’and

commas.

Sowhenthedukeandhiswifewerecomeuntotheking,bythemeansofgreat

lordstheywereaccordedboth.Thekinglikedandlovedthisladywell,andhe

madethemgreatcheeroutofmeasure,anddesiredtohavelainbyher.Butshe

wasapassinggoodwoman,andwouldnotassentuntotheking(33).

ItisinterestingtonotethateventhoughMalorywaswritten400yearsbeforeMorriswas,the

languageisquitesimple.TherearerarelyoccurrencesofwordsthatcontemporariesofMorris

wouldnotunderstand.TheuseofarchaicwordsseemstobeatechniqueemployedbyMorristo

makehistextfeellikeanoldertext,eveniftheoldertexthewasworkingwithdidnotinclude

manyofthosewords.

Theuseofarchaiclanguagefunctionsasmorethanastylisticchoice;itemphasizesa

kindofnostalgiathatMorrisisattemptingtoexpresstothereader.Therevivalofmedieval

romanceandMorris’scleardriveforconservation,arebothrepresentedinthisnostalgia.By

usingthelanguageoftheoldertexts,Morrisisengagingtheaudienceintheexperienceof

readingtheseoldromances.ThistechniqueseemstoimplythatMorrisisnotsimplyattempting

toengagehiscontemporariesinanewexperienceofromanticmotifs,buttrulywantshis



24

audiencetoregainthefeelingofreadingaromance.Thelanguageplaceshisreaderinthis

forgottenworldandthroughthelanguagerevivesthesentimentassociatedwiththeseoldertexts.

TheVisualText

WhileTheWoodBeyondtheWorld

isapoetictextitisalsovisual.Thisisrepresentedin

notonlytheimages,butthebookitself.ThebookbeginswithabeautifulimageoftheMaiden

fromthestory(fig.1).Theimagehasherwearingflowersandinameadowwhereflowersare

blooming.Itisclearthatsheisinthewoodsbecauseoftheboughsinthebackground.This

detailedimageisframedbyabeautifulborderofaspiralingvinewithflowers.Thesameframe

ispresentontheoppositepagewherethefirstletterisacomplexandelegant‘A’.Theletterisso

largeitcontinuesuntilthetenthlineofthetext.Throughoutthelengthofthebooktherearehalf

bordersofdelicatevinesaroundeverychapterheadingandeachoneisuniqueanddetailed(fig.

2).Eachchapterbeginswithasmallerbutnolessbeautifulletterstamp;inaddition,each

paragraphbeginswithasmallletterstampthatisreminiscentofthevinesandleavespresentin

therestofthetext.Evenwithinthelargeparagraphs,therearelittleoakleavesinbetweenthe

dialog,representingwheretheretypicallywouldbeaparagraphbreak.

Thephysicalnatureofthistextconstantlyremindsthereaderthattheyareengagingwith

abookratherthansimplyastory.Thevisualartthatisphysicallyinthetextisalsoreflectedin

thetextitself.ThewaythatMorrisdetailstheworldisreminiscentofPreRaphaelitework.With

manyofhisdescriptions,MorriscouldbeexplainingaPreRaphaelitepaintingbyoneofhis

colleagues.

Afterhehadgoneawhileandwhenasthesummermornwasatitsbrightest,he

sawalittlewayaheadagreyrockrisingupfromamidstofaringof



25

oaktrees;...hesawthattherewasafountaingushingoutfromundertherocks,

whichranthenceinafairlittlestream.Andwhenhehadtherockandthefountain

andthestreamclearbeforehim,lo!AchildofAdamsittingbesidetherock

fountainundertheshadowoftherock.Hedrewalittlenigher,&thenhesawthat

itwasawoman,cladingreenliketheswardwhereonshelay.Shewasplaying

withthewellingoutofthewater,&shehadtrusseduphersleevestotheshoulder

thatshemightthrustherarmstherein.Hershoesofblackleatherlayonthegrass

besideher,&herfeetandlegsshonewiththebrook.(60)

ThewaythatMorrisdetailsthebackgroundofthepaintingwithadescriptionofthetrees,rock

andstreamischaracteristicofthePreRaphaeliteartistswhoplaceexquisitedetailintoelements

thebackgroundoftheirpaintings.Also,thewaythatMorrisreferenceslightinthescenebrings

tomindhowimportantlightwasinmayPreRaphaeliteworks.Inthisscene,the‘mornwasatits

brightest’,whichgivesthereadervisualinformation.InPreRaphaelitework,especially

paintings,whichwomenarethecenter,thelightplaysofftheirskininawaythatmakesitglow.

Morrisseemstobealludingtothisaestheticwhenhediscussesthephysicalnatureoflight.Also,

thefinalimage:“herfeetandlegsshonewiththebrook”reflectstheglowingaestheticthrough

theimageofherwetfeetandlegsreflectingthebrightmorningsun.

PreRaphaelitepaintingsthatincludeabodyofwater,likeTheLadyofShalott

byJ.W.

Waterhouse(fig.3),emphasizethewomaninthepictureinacompellingwaythatisalsousedby

Morris.Eventhoughwaterisoneofthemostreflectivematerials,thewomeninthesepaintings

seemtobereflectingthelightmorethanthewater;thisistrueaboutTheLadyofShallot

.The

Ladyisinaboatonariver,whichcoincideswithaparticularscenefromTennyson’spoemof



26

thesamename.Inthepaintingitisclearthattheladyisthefocusnotonlybecausesheisinthe

center,butalsobecauseherbrightwhitedressseemstobereflectingthelightinawaythat

makesherdrawtheattentionoftheaudience’seyes.Thelightintheworldofthepaintingmust

bebrighttocreatethattypeofreflection,andyetthewaterisnotreflectingthelightatall.There

arereflectionsoftheskyandtreesinthewater,butthesunisnotreflected.Therearenobright

colorsinthewater,simplythedarkerreflectionsoftheworldaroundher.EventheLadyisnot

reflectedinthewater,becausethepaintingcutsoffbeforeherreflectionwouldhavebeen

necessary.ThistypeoffocusisbeingalludedtoinMorris’sdescriptionoftheMaidbecause

thoughhementionstheshiningmaidhedoesnotmentionthewater.

ThescenethatMorrissetswhenWalterfirstmeetshislove,couldbeadescriptionofa

preraphaelitepainting.Thistypeofdetailispresentthroughoutthetextsomuchso,thatthe

storycouldeasilybeportrayedinaseriesoftapestries.Thevisualnatureofthetextaddstothe

poeticalaestheticthatMorriswasstrivingfor.Thefocusofthistextisnottheplotbutto

conserveandmakeaccessiblethemostbeautifulelementsofMedievalart.

ReviewsandLetters

InTheCollectedLettersofWilliamMorris

,MorriswritestotworeviewersofTheWood

BeyondtheWorld

.Eachreviewwaspositiveandinsightful;however,WilliamMorrisagreed

withonerevieweranddisagreedwiththeother.Thefirstreviewer,TheodoreWattsDunton,was

writingforTheAthenaeum

magazine,aliterarymagazinepublishedinlondonfrom18281921.

(Jones)ThisreviewdiscussesthepoeticalnatureofTheWoodBeyondtheWorld.

WattsDunton

states:“Ifthename“metrelesspoem”canproperlybegiventoanyformofimaginative

literature,theseromancesaremorefullyentitledtothatnamethananythingthathasgone



27

before”(1895).WattsDuntonistouchingonacomplexquestionthatinvolvesthedefinitionof

poetry.Poetryhasbeendefinedbyformandformhadbeenrepresentedprimarilythroughmeter.

ToanswerthequestionwhetherornotTheWoodBeyondtheWorld

ispoetry,WattsDunton

arguesthatthoughthetextdoesnotfollowa“recognized

metricallaw”thetextcouldstillbe

definedaspoetry.Thisisbecausethesentencesfollowthe“simplemethod”ofpoeticalphrases

andthe“imaginativeliteratureisimbuedthroughoutwithpoeticalcolour”.Theseobservations

aretrueofthetext,howeverWattsDuntonseemstobemissingakeyelement.Muchofthe

innovationofMorris’sworkliesinitsabilitytouseelementsofpastfantasticalworksthatwere

writteninpoetry,butbringingthemintoamorecontemporaryform:aproseromance.

Morris’slife’sworkcannotclearlybedefinedbecausehewasinvolvedinsomany

aspectsofsociety,howeveroneofthecommonthemespresentinbothhisliteraryworkand

textiledesignistheneedtoconservebeautyinanaccessiblecontext.Throughhisdesigncareer,

MorrisworkedtobringthehighartoftheMiddleAgesintothehome.Indoingso,hemadethe

magnificentart,accessibletopeopleonadailybasis:itwasbeautifulandpractical.Thisiswhere

WattsDuntonfallssomewhatshort;Morrisiswritingwithpoeticalelementsbutheis

definitivelynotsimplywritingpoetry.Theaccessibleliteratureofthelate1800’swerenovels

andthroughhisproseromances,MorriswasbringingthemostbeautifulelementsofMedieval

literaturetothenineteenthCentury.

Inadditiontodiscussingthepoeticalnatureofthetext,WattsDuntonalsodiscussesthe

waythatMorrisusesnoncontemporarylanguage.Heasksthequestion“Isitlegitimateandisit

wiseforanartisttoreturnupthestreamofliteratureinwhichheworksinordertopreservesome

ofthebestoftheoldbeautiesofhislanguagefrombeingsweptawaybymoderninnovations?”



28

(1895)ThisquestiondirectlycorrespondswiththethemeofconservationthatMorriswastrying

toachievewiththiswork:theconservationofhowmarvelsfunctionedinmedievalromances.

ThisconservationeffortwasrepresentedinthelanguagethatMorrischosetouse.Thearchaic

languagealludesbacktohowmedievaltextswereoriginallywritten.EventhewaythatMorris

physicallyrepresentedthetextasanilluminatedmanuscriptharkensbacktotheoriginal

romantictales.Theconservationofthetext,pairedwiththeaccessibilityofthemedium,makes

thistextbothbeautifulandaccessibleeveniftheaestheticofthetextisnolongeralwaysclearto

amodernreader.

Afterreadingthisreview,WilliamMorrisfeltinclinedtorespondtotheauthor.Inaletter

writtentoTheodoreWattsDuntononMarch7th,1895,Morriswrites:“Onehassooftenbeen

praisedfordoingwhatonehasbynomeansaimedat,thatitisaverypleasantchangetofind

someonewhounderstandsone'saim,andissokindastothinkthemarkhasbeenhit”(Collected

Letters

252).WattsDunton’scommentsaboutthenatureofthelanguageusedinthepoem

clearlyisexactlywhatMorrisintended.Morrisusesarchaicbutsimplelanguagethatisnot

didacticorrhetoricalintheslightest.Itissimplywrittenforthestorywithnoulteriormotivein

mind.Thissimplicityiscomparedtocontemporarypoets;however,thissimplicityisanother

signthatTheWoodBeyondtheWorld

isnotsimplypoetrybutaproseromance.Poetryatthis

timewasfilledwithrhetoricandeuphuismasWattsDuntonstates,thereforeMorrisisnot

writingcontemporarypoetry.

ThesecondreviewthatMorrisdirectlydiscussesinhiscollectedlettersappearedinThe

Spectator

,amagazinestartedin1828,whichisstillinprintmakingitthelongestrunning

magazineintheEnglishLanguage.Theauthorofthereviewwasnotpublished,soMorris



29

addressedhislettertotheeditorofthemagazine.Thearticlebeginsbydiscussingallegoryand

writes“Thereareprobablymanypeoplewhoreadanallegoryastheyreadafairytale,without

seekingforhiddenmeanings”(Spectator).TheauthorgoesontoexplainhowTheWoodBeyond

theWorld

isanallegoryforCapital,LaborandAristocracyandtheirrelationship.Theauthor

impliesthatMorrisisusingthetexttoexplainhissocialistpoliticalviews.Thearticleconcludes

with:

ThestoryofTheWoodbeyondtheWorld

,takenasafairytale,ispoeticaland

highlyimaginative,butifwearecompelledtolookintoitsteachingweare

remindedofthemirrorinwhichwenowseelifedarkly,andofanancientmirror

inwhichthefaceslooksomewhatdistorted,thoughtheframeisquaintlysetand

enrichedwithjewels.(Spectator)

Thiscriticenjoyedthestoryitselfandbelievesitis‘poetical’and‘highlyimaginative’butseems

tobelievethatthevalueofthestorycomesfromthesocialistallegory.Thisclearlyisnotwhat

Morriswasattemptingbecausehejustagreedwiththepreviousreviewerthathedidnotintend

anyhiddenmeaningbehindthestory.WhilethefirstreviewerbelievedMorris’slackofdidactic

teachingwasrefreshing,thesecondreviewerseemedincapableofenjoyingastorywithoutitand

hadtoprojectateachingontoastorythatdidnotintendtobedidactic.

Inhislettertotheeditor,Morriswriteshisthanksforthepositivereview,butalso

discussestheproblematicnatureoftheanalysis.Heexpressesthathedoesnottypicallyrespond

toreviewofhisworkbecausethe“writershaveformedtheiropinionsongroundssufficientto

themselves”(CollectedLetters

291)

.However,hebelieveditwasnecessarytorespondtothis

reviewbecausehedidnotwantotherreaderstobeleadastraybythisoverlyconfidentanalysis.



30

Morrisexplains:“IfIhavetowriteorspeakonsocialproblems,IalwaystrytobeasdirectasI

possiblycanbe.Ontheotherhand,Ishouldconsideritbadartinanyonewritinganallegorynot

tomakeitclearfromthefirstthatthiswashisintention”(CollectedLetters

291)

.Inthisway,it

seemsthatthereviewerwasincorrectabouttheworkfortworeasons:Morrisdoesnotdiscuss

politicsunlessdirectlyaddressingtheproblems,andifhehadwroteanallegoryhewouldhave

donehisbesttomakeitexpresslyclearwhathewasattemptingtodo.

Authorsofmedievalromancesdidnothaveulteriormotiveswhenwritingtheirtexts;

theyweresimplyattemptingtoconveyabeautifulstory.Thisisexactlythetypeofwritingthat

MorriswastryingtoconserveandrevitalizebywritinghisProseRomances.Morris’sworkwas

notwrittentodiscussalargerissuefacinghissocietybyusingallegory;itwasaneffortto

conservemultipledifferentaspectsofMedievalLiterature.

Conclusion

TherearemanyaspectsofModernFantasythatwerepioneeredbyWilliamMorris.One

ofthemostimportantisthatMorrisestablishedhowthefantasyitselfisenoughtodriveatext.

Thebeautyofmarvelsneedstobepreservedandcontinuedevenifromancesthemselvesneedto

changedrasticallytoaccountforshiftingfashions.Morrisshowsthattheessenceandbeautyof

medievalromanceliesinthemarvelsofthetextratherthaninthecourtliness.

Morris’stextconservesmanyaspectsofmedievalliteratureusingdifferenttacticsto

initiatenostalgiainhisreader.Heusesarchaicwordsandwordordertorepresentatimefarin

thepast.Morrisalsoilluminatedhismanuscriptsinhisownwaywiththevisualartthatheprints

alongsidehisstories.Toemphasizethefocusofthestory,heletstheplotfalltothewaysideand



31

letstheromanticimagestakethespotlighttofurtherestablishthebeautyandsignificanceofthe

marvels.

Morris’suseofimageryinthestoryjustifiesthemarvelspresentinmedievalromances

byemphasizingtheirbeauty.Inhistext,hedoesnotfeeltheneedtoexplainordetailthe

ordinarybutinsteadfocusesonthefantastic.Thistacticconcentratesthetextontheessenceof

marvelitselfandallowsthereadertobaskinthebeautyofthefantasticimageswithouthavingto

worryabouttheirrelationtoalargerplot.

Unlikesomefantasy,Morris’sworkswerenotanallegoryforagreaterideabecause,for

him,fantasyitselfwashisgreatermeaning.Morrisfoundsocietyhadshiftedawayandlostits

magic.TherevivaloftheArthurianlegendpriortoMorris’stextsmayhaveremindedhimhow

fantastictheworldusedtobe,butashegrewolderliteraturebegantoshunmarvelsandmagic.

Tobattlethisdecision,Morristookituponhimselftomakeasafehavenforthesemagicalthings

andpavedthewayformoretobecreatedandadmired.



33

Chapter2

FantasyGravitatedtotheNurseryWhenitWentOutofFashion



Children’sliteraturehasnotalwaysbeenseparatefromliteraturewrittenforadults.There

werefairytalesandnurseryrhymes,buttherewasnotasurgeforchildren'sbooksunitlafter

WWII.Children'sliteraturehasbothcensoredcontentandcensoredlanguage.Thecontentis

censoredbecausetherearetopicsthatadultshavedeemedinappropriateforchildrentoread

about.Twoofthemostcommonofthesetopicsaresexandgraphicviolence.Thelanguageof

children’sliteratureisalsocensoredintwoways.Children'sliteraturedoesnotincludeswear

wordsorwordsassociatedwithsex,anditalsohasamoresimplevocabularythanother

literature.Children’sliteraturehasasimplervocabularysothatchildrenwillbeableto

understandthetextwiththeirownlimitedvocabulary.Theseelementsdefinewhatis

foundationallydifferentbetweenchildren'sliteratureandotherliterature.

Beforetherewerechildren’sauthors,therewereauthorsassociatedwithchildren.Aesop

isaperfectexampleofthistypeofauthor.Aesopwasnotwritingspecificallyforchildrenand

hisworkisnotreadonlybychildren.However,hisworkslowlybecameassociatedwithchildren

andAesop'sFables

becameapopularbookforchildrenbecauseofthestrongmorallessons

presentinthetales.AfterWWII,JellaLepmanestablishedtheInternationalBoardonBooksfor

YoungPeopleinZurich,Switzerlandin1953.Thiseventleadtomanymajordevelopmentsin

establishingChildren'sLiteratureasitsowngenre.Followingthesedevelopmentscamewhatis

knownasthesecond‘goldenage’ofchildren’sliterature.Whilethereisnodistinguishable

reasonthatchildren’sliteratureflourishedatthistime,itwasinaccordancewithdevelopmentsin

education.(Hunt,255)



34

Duringthistimetherewasalsoashiftinhowchildren’sliteraturewasviewed.Thisgenre

startedtodrawprominentauthorswhowrotesomeoftheirbestworkduringthistime:Lucy

Boston,PhilippaPearce,WilliamMayne,AlanGarner,RosemarySutcliff,BeatrixPotterand

manyothers.OneofthesesuchauthorswasC.S.Lewis.C.S.Lewisisoneofthemostprominent

andinfluentialchildren’sauthorsofalltime.Hisseries,TheChroniclesofNarnia

,becamean

instantclassicwhenthefirstbookwaspublishedin1950.However,C.S.Lewiswoulddisagree

withhistitleasachildren’sauthor,infacthewoulddisagreewiththewholeconceptof

children’sliterature.

WhileC.S.LewismaybemostfamousforhisNarniaseries,hewasmuchmorethana

children’sauthor.Lewiswasalsoapoet,literarycritic,theologian,essayistandacademic.He

wrotemanyfictionworksincludingasciencefictiontrilogyandTheScrewtapeLetters

:a

Christianapologeticnovel.LewiswasthechairofMedievalandRenaissanceLiteratureat

CambridgeUniversitythoughhebeganhiscareeratOxford.ThroughhistimeatOxford,Lewis

becameamemberofthegrouptheInklingstowhichJ.R.R.Tolkienalsobelonged.Lewis’swork

hashadalastingeffectonmanydifferentaspectsofliterature,someofhismostilluminating

worksarehisessays,especiallythosecollectedinthebookOfOtherWorlds.

OfOtherWorlds

consistsofmanydifferentworksincludingbothessaysandshortstories.

Inthisbook,hediscussestwoimportantandblossominggenresinthe1950’s:fantasyand

children’sliterature.C.S.Lewishasafewdescriptionsaboutwhyitisproblematictoseparate

children'sliteratureandadultliterature.Thefirstissueisseparatingthemimpliesthatadults

shouldnotreadchildren’sliterature.Lewisargues:“thatachildren’sstorywhichisenjoyedonly

bychildrenisabadchildren’sstory”(24).Childrencanenjoystoriesthatarewrittenwelland



35

havelevelsofengagement;however,ifastorylacksamorecomplexmeaningorissimplynot

veryinterestingthenthestoryisnotgood.Thesearethetropesthatpeoplewritewhentheirgoal

istosellbookstochildren.Thereasonsthatchildren’sstoriescanbebadarethesamereasons

whyanystorycouldbebad.Childrenarenotnecessarilyjudgesofwhatconstitutesgood

literature,butthatdoesnotmeanthatchildren’sauthorsareallowedtobelazy.Lewiscontinues

byexplaininghowchildren’sliteratureshouldbeapproached:“Wherethechildren’sstoryis

simplytherightformforwhattheauthorhastosay,thenofcoursereaderswhowanttohear

that,willreadthestoryorrereadit,atanyage”(24).Thiscontinuestoexplainthatadultswho

likeacertaingenreofliteraturetendedtoreadthattypeofliteraturewhentheywerechildren.

Thereisno‘juveniletaste’ofliterature;thereareindividualsopinionsofwhattheypreferto

read.ThestoriesthatC.S.Lewisenjoyedreadingasachild,healsofindsenjoyableasanadult.

C.S.Lewisusestheseargumentstodiscussthenatureofthefairytale.“Inmostplaces

andtimes,thefairytalehasnotbeenspeciallymadefor,norexclusivelyenjoyedby,children”

(26).Theassociationbetweenfairytalesandchildrenisarbitraryandwasestablishedwhenfairy

taleswerenolongerconsideredfashionable.TheRealismmovement,establishedaftertheageof

enlightenment,pushedfantasticalliteraturetotheside.Duringthelatenineteenthcentury,

fantasticalliteraturebegantomakeacomebackbutpurefantasyorfairytaleswerestill

consideredimmatureornaiveliterature.Therefore,fantasywasdoomedtobesolelyforchildren.

C.S.Lewisdefendsfairytalesinthisessayandarguesthatthereisnoconcretereasonfor

fantasytobeconsideredjuvenile.Inhisexperience:“InowenjoythefairytalesbetterthanIdid

inchildhood:beingnowabletoputmorein,ofcourseIgetmoreout”(26).



36

Clearly,C.S.Lewisknowsthatchildren’sliteratureisessential.However,hedislikesthat

ithasbeenseparatedfromadultliterature,whichleadtoLewis’sconclusionthatithasbeen

definedincorrectly.Theimplicationthatchildren'sliteratureshouldbewrittenforand

exclusivelyreadbychildrenisincorrectandunhelpful.Lewisarguedthattheonlyreasonan

authorshouldwriteachildren’sstoryisbecause“achildren’sstoryisthebestartformfor

somethingyouhavetosay”(23).Treatingchildren’sliteraturelikeanyothergenreisinnovative

andcrucial.Understandingchildren’sliteratureasamediumforartaddressestheproblemwith

badchildren’sliterature.Iftheonlyreasononehastowritesomethingisbecausetheywantto

writesomething,thatpieceofliteraturewillnotbeinteresting. 

Theideathatchildren’sliteraturecanbeaccessibletochildrenbutalsoconstituteasgood

literatureisexemplifiedbyTheLiontheWitchandtheWardrobe

.“TheLion

allbeganwitha

pictureofaFauncarryinganumbrellaandparcelsinasnowywood”(42).Theiconicimageof

Mr.TumnusthatbeginsLucy’sadventuresinNarnia,isoneofthemostimportantimagesinthis

text.Itdoesnothavemuchtodowiththeoverarchingallegorythatisessentialtounderstanding

theworkasawholebutthebeautifulimagespresentinthistextareoneofthemostcompelling

aspectsofthiswork.

Oneoftheotherintriguingelementsofthestoryisthewaythatthenarratorfunctionsas

acharacter.TheLiontheWitchandtheWardrobe

clearlycomesoutofastorytellingtradition.

Thewaythatthenarrationkeepsremindingthereaderthattheyarereadingastory,andthe

narrator’sinterjections,aretypicalofastoryteller.Theoralbasednatureofthistextistypicalof

children’sliteraturebecausechildrenarenotcompletelyliteratebeingsyet.Theyareslowly

learninghowtothinkandreasoninaccordancewithliterature,buttheyarestilltransitioning.



37

Thatiswhychildren'sliteratureislesscomplexandismoreactionbasedthanadultliterature.

However,whilethesecharacteristicsareassociatedwithchildren,theydonotexclusivelyapply

tochildren.Manyaspectsofreasoningthatintellectualsocietydeemsas‘juvenile’areactually

simplyoralbasedprocessing.

Theoralbasednatureofchildren’sliteratureisalsopresentinmanyFantasyworks

becauseofthesignificanceofitsoraltradition.Whiletherearemanyreasonswhythe

associationbetweenchildren’sliteratureandfantasyliteraturehavebeenincorrectlyequated,the

oralbasednatureofthetwotypesofliteratureisacharacteristicthattheybothshare.Itis

importanttoexplorethewaythattheNarnianworldbalancesa‘lawofexistence’withan

overarchingthemeandthewaythatthistextutilizeselementsoforalreasoning.

LawsofExistence

OneoftheaspectsmostinterestingintheworldofNarnia,isthewaythattheworld

balancesimaginedlogicwiththelogicandeventspresentinthehumanworld.WhenLucyfirst

entersNarniashenoticesthatsheisinthemiddleofasnowywood;however,shesoonfindsa

lamppost.Thecombinationoftwoimagesthatsheisusedtoseeing,awoodandalamppost,

aremademagicalbytheirjuxtaposition.Combiningthefantasticwiththenormalispartofwhat

makesTheLion,theWitchandtheWardrobe

soamusing.ThisallowsLewistobasealotofthe

lawsofhisnewworldinthelogicoftherealworld.However,unlikeMorris,Lewisisdedicated

toexplainingthelogicofthemagicalworldtothereaderinawaythatmakestheplotandthe

situationsoftheworldthefocusofthework.

ThefirstinstanceofthisexplanationoccursduringteawithMr.Tumnus.Thissceneis

vitaltoestablishinghowtheworldfunctions.WhileMr.Tumnusisexplainingwhatisgoingon



38

intheworldofNarnia,thetwocharactersarehavinganEnglishstyleteawithfood,drinkand

mannersthataretypicallyfoundinEnglishsociety.“Andreallyitwasawonderfultea.There

wasanicebrownegg,lightlyboiled,foreachofthem,andthensardinesontoast,andthen

butteredtoast,andthentoastwithhoney;andthenasugartoppedcake”(14).Thereisnothing

magicalorunnaturalabouttheteathatthetwocharactershare,eachfoodisavailabletothe

peoplewhowouldbereadingthisstoryandtheyareallfoodsthatcouldbeeatenatteatime.

Afterthisnormisestablished,Mr.TumnusthengoesontotellstoriesaboutNarniathat

arenottypicalofEngland.“HetoldaboutthemidnightdancesandhowtheNymphswholived

inthewellsandtheDryadswholivedinthetreescameouttodancewiththeFauns;aboutlong

huntingpartiesafterthemilkwhiteStagwhocouldgiveyouwishesifyoucaughthim”(15).

Thisdiscussionclearlyexemplifiesthewaythatthistextfunctions;thereismagicandnew

creaturesbuttheactionsofthetexttypicallyareeventswhichoccurintherealworld.Thereare

NymphsandDryadsbuttheydoatypicalthing:dance.Inadditiontothis,itisnecessaryto

noticehowLewismakessuretoincludedetailsaboutwhatthesecreaturesareduringthestory.

Mr.TumnusexplainsthattheNymphscomefromwellsandtheDryadscomefromtrees.This

inclusioncanbecreditedtothefactthatLucywouldnotknowwhatthesecreaturesare,but

Lewisismakingsureshe,andthereader,knowabouteachofthecreatures.

AnotheropportunityfordetaileddescriptionoccursatthehouseoftheBeavers.This

sceneisfilledwithbeautifuljuxtapositionsofbeaverlifeandthelifeofEnglishpeople.Lucy

walksintothebeaverhouseand“thefirstthingshesawwasakindlookingoldshebeaver

sittinginthecornerwithathreadinhermouthworkingbusilyathersewingmachine”(66).This

imageofabeaveratasewingmachineisdelightful;italsoemphasizesthepresenceofEnglish



39

lifeinthisworld.TheanimalsseemtofunctionexactlylikeBritishpeoplebuttheyhappento

liveintheplacesthattheywouldliveinthehumanworld.TheBeavers’moundisfilledwith

humantoolsanddifferentthingsthatpeopleeat,butitisstillamound.

ManyobjectsandbehaviorsoftheanimalscomefromEngland,buttheanimalseven

havethesamemannersasaBritishperson.WhenMr.Beaverbringsthechildrentohishouse

theypassbythedammadebyMr.Beaver.Thechildrenseethedamandthen“Theyalsonoticed

thathenowhadasortofmodestexpressiononhisfacethesortoflookpeoplehavewhenyou

arevisitingagardenthey’vemadeorreadingastorythey’vewritten”(Lewis,64).This

emphasizesthatmannersandthecodeofbehavioristhesameinNarniaasitisinEngland.The

BeaversactlikeEnglishpeopleratherthananykindofanimal;theyeveneatthesamething.

However,therearesomethingsthatarestillanimallike:Mr.Beaverspendshisfreetime

makingadam.

Lewisusesthelogicofthehumanworldtocreatethefoundationforfantasticallogic.

Thisfoundationenableshimtothenestablishthemagicofthetext.WhenLucyfirstentersthe

worldshehasteawithMr.Tumnus.Aftertheyhavetea,Mr.Tumnusbreaksdownandadmits

thathehaskidnappedLucytogivehertotheWhiteWitch.Thisisthefirstmomentthatthe

readerisintroducedtorealmagicinthestory.Mr.Tumnusisamarvel,buttheWhiteWitchhas

magic.“ItisshethathasgotallNarniaunderherthumb.It’sshethatmakesitalwayswinter.

AlwayswinterandneverChristmas;thinkofthat!”(17).Thisisthefirstmomentwhenthe

readeristoldaboutthepoliticsofNarniaandthisisthefirsttimethereaderencountersthemain

conflict.



40

Conflictsareinoppositiontothenormofaworld;Lewishassetthenormoftheworld

throughMr.Tumnus’shouse,hismannersandthestorieshetells.Then,hedescribeswhatis

wrongwiththeworldandinestablishingtheconflicthealsodefinesitasconflict.Becauseheis

describingtheactionsoftheWitchinanegativelight,heisclarifyingthattheeternalwinteris

againstthenormoftheworld;thereforeintroducingconflict.Notonlydoesthisconflict

immediatelyengagethereaderintheworlditself,butalsoengagesthereaderinthestory

becauseitplacestheprotagonistindanger.Inoneinteraction,Lewisisabletoestablishthebasis

ofanentireworld.

UnlikeinMorris,LewisexplainshowandwhymagicalthingshappeninNarnia.The

WhiteWitchkillsAslaninplaceofEdmundbutreturnsfromthedead.Thismagicisexplained

toLucyandSusan.AslansaysthattheWitchknewadeepmagicbutthereisanevendeeper

magicthatshedidnotknow,whichsavedAslan.“Shewouldhaveknownthatwhenawilling

victimwhohadcommittednotreacherywaskilledinatraitor’sstead,theTablewouldcrackand

Deathitselfwouldstartworkingbackwards”(Lewis156).ThissituationisdifferentfromMorris

andmedievalromanceintwoways:theprotagonistsquestionthemagicandthenthemagicis

explained.BecauseLucyandSusanaskwhyAslanwasabletoliveagain,heanswersthemand

explainsthelogicofhowthemagicworks.

AfterAslanrisesfromthedeadheperformsanothermiracle:hebringsallthestone

animalsbacktolife.ThismagicisnotquestionedbyLucyorSusanbutinsteadtheyjustwatch

inamazementasAslanisabletofreeallthecreatures.However,LucyorSusanhavenotceased

theircuriosity;inLewis’stext,onceacreaturehasproventhattheyareabletoperformmagic

eachnewactofmagictheyperformdoesnotnecessarilyneedtobeexplainedbythestory.Also,



41

becausetheyseeAslanbringingthecreaturestolifewithhisbreath,theydonotneedtoaskhow

heisdoingit.

ThetwocreaturesinthistextthatcanperformmagicaretheWitchandAslan.Eachone

hasspecificpowersthattheydisplayoverthecourseofthestory.However,theonceitis

establishedthatthecharactercanperformmagic,eachfollowingactofmagicdoesnotneedto

beexplained.ThefirsttimeinthestorythattheWitchperformsmagiciswhenshemeets

Edmundandgiveshimfood.

TheQueentookfromsomewhereamongherwrappingsaverysmallbottlewhich

lookedasifitweremadeofcopper.Then,holdingoutherarm,sheletonedrop

fallfromitontothesnowbesidethesledge.Edmundsawthedropforasecondin

midair,shininglikeadiamond.Butthemomentittouchedthesnowtherewasa

hissingsoundandtherestoodajewelledcupfullofsomethingthatsteamed.(32)

Thismomentisimportantbecauseitisthefirsttimethatthereaderencountersmagicinthe

story.ItisalsoimportantbecauseitestablishesthemagicalpoweroftheWhiteWitch.Lewis’s

choicetohavethefirstmagicsheperformstocomefromasourceotherthanwandisinteresting

becauseherwandishermostterrifyingweapon.Themagicofthismomentispresentinthe

imagery.Thecopperofthebottleinvokestheimageofabrightandshiningobjectthatwouldbe

glisteningwiththereflectionsofthesnow.Thenthedropofliquidissobrightitwas‘shining

likeadiamond’.Atypicalmetaphorforashiningliquidwouldbeacrystalbecausecrystalsare

transparent.However,Lewis’suseofdiamondinvokesamoremysticalandextravagantimage

whilealsoexpressingthattheliquidisnotsimilartowaterbutmustbemuchmorebrightand

reflective.



42

Themagicoftheworldisexplainedanddescribedwithclarityandintention.Lewisis

clearabouthowtheworldfunctionsandwhatisthemainconflict.Lewisusesimageryto

establishboththefoundationallogicofEnglishsocietyandthemagicallogicoftheNarnian

world.Throughtheimagesofthetextandtheexplanationsofcharacters,Lewisisableto

integrateEnglishobjectsandbehaviorswithmagicalcreaturesandforcesflawlessly.

UseofImagery

Lewis’sexplanationsbuildtheworldforthereaderusingacombinationofimages.This

styleistypicalofWilliamMorrisandfunctionsinLewis’stexttohelpthereaderpictureNarnia.

LewisismorefocusedonplotandcharacterthanMorris,buthestillusesimagestoportrayhis

story.Thefirstimageofafaunwithanumbrellaandparcelspassingbyalamppostinthe

middleofasnowywoodisaniconicimagefromthistext.Infact,thisimageiswhatinspired

LewistowriteTheChroniclesofNarnia

.Inhisessay,‘ItAllBeganwithaPicture”Lewis

describeshowhehadthisimageinhisheadsincehewasateenager“Thenoneday,whenIwas

aboutforty,Isaidtomyself:‘Let’strytomakeastoryaboutit.’”(42).LikeTheWoodBeyond

theWorld

,Lewis’stextusesdistinctimagestocreatetheworld.TheimagesinLewis’stext

functionlikeillustrationsthathelpmaketheworldspecificeventothosewhowerehearingit

readaloud.ThefirsttimethatEdmundseestheWhiteWitchispaintedlikeadetailedpicture.

Thecolorsareclarifiedandthedimensionsofcharactersaredetailedwithprecision:

ThereindeerwereaboutthesizeofShetlandponiesandtheirhairwassowhite

thateventhesnowhardlylookedwhitecomparedwiththem;theirbranching

hornsweregildedandshonelikesomethingonfirewhenthesunrisecaughtthem.

Theirharnesswasofscarletleatherandcoveredwithbells.(27)

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43

Thefirstelementofthisscenetobedescribedarethereindeer.Theyarenotonlydefinedas

whitebut“sowhitethatthesnowhardlylookedwhiteincomparison”.Theemphasisonthe

colorgivesthereaderaclearimageofhowtopicturethereindeerbutalsogivesthemamystical

qualityforwhatcanbewhiterthansnow?Thenextdetailisthattheirhornsaregildedinthe

colorsoffire,whichwouldmakeabeautifulcontrasttothewhiteoftheirfurandthewhiteofthe

snowthatisallaroundthem.Thiscontrastisrepeatedinthecoloroftheirharness:scarlet.This

descriptiongoesontodetailthedwarfandtheWitchinthesamedetaileddescriptionasthe

reindeer,usinglanguagetopaintavibrantpicture,whichalsoaddstothefantasticalnatureof

thisscene.

Theseimagesarenotstyledafteranyparticularvisualmedium.However,theylend

themselvesbeautifullytoillustration.ThefirsteditionofTheLion,TheWitchandtheWardrobe

wasillustratedbyPaulineBaynesandtheabovepassagewasrenderedbyherinthetext(fig.4).

Thisimageisintriguingandcapturestheessenceofthemomentevenifitdoesnotsuccessfully

followallofthespecificdetails.Thereindeerarenotwhiterthanthesnowbuttheimage

captureswhatisimportantaboutEdmund’sfirstmeetingwiththeWhiteWitch:howterrifying

andpowerfulshelooks.Theblankwhitenessofherbodyandclothingmakeherseemabsolutely

inhumanandalsovisuallyconnectherwiththecursethatsheplacedonNarnia:theeternal

winter.Theillustrationshowshowhersledgestandsoutfromthesnowybackgroundandthe

ornategoldpatternseemstoimplyherwealth.Thisillustrationalsoclearlyestablisheshowout

ofplaceEdmundisinthisnewworld.WhiletheQueenseemstocomefromthesnowoftheland

itself,everythingaboutEdmundclasheswiththeworldaroundhim.Thebrightcolorofhisshirt

standsoutagainsttheimmaculatewhiteofthesnowaroundhim.Heisalsodressedinalight

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44

sweatervestandshorts,whichseemridiculouswhileheisstandinginsnowandtheother

charactersinthepicturearecoveredinblankets.

Lewisusesimagerytoestablishmanydifferentaspectsoftheworld.Oneoftheclearest

usesisdefiningingthedifferencebetweentheWhiteWitchandAslan.Throughoutthetext,the

Witchisassociatedwithwhiteandred,whichhaveconnotationsofwinteranddeath.“Herface

waswhitenotmerelypale,butwhitelikesnoworpaperoricingsugar,exceptforherveryred

mouth”(28).Everythingassociatedwithheriswhiteandredincludingherself.Contrastly,Aslan

isassociatedwithsaturatedcolorsforhebringsspringwithhim.“Forwhentheytriedtolookat

Aslan’sfacetheyjustcaughtaglimpseofthegoldenmane”(120).Themostobviousexampleof

thesecontrastingcolorpalettesiswhenAslanbringsthecreaturestolifewhohavebeenturned

tostonebythewitch.“ForasecondafterAslanhadbreatheduponhimthestonelionlookedjust

thesame.Thenatinystreakofgoldbegantorunalonghiswhitemarblebackthenit

spreadthenthecolorseemedtolickalloverhimastheflamelicksalloverabitofpaper…”

(162).Themarblestatues,whichwouldbebrightwhiteandcoveredwithsnowistheperfect

imagerytobeassociatedwiththewitch.Notonlydoesshestoplifebecauseshemakesit

eternallywinter,butthatisalsohergreatestpowerthatshecanturnlivingbeingsintostone.In

contrast,Aslanisthebringeroflife;hebringsspringtotheworldwhenhearrivesandoverthe

courseofthestorywinterslowlyends.

ThepassagethatdescribesAslanbringingthelionbacktolifeexactlyexemplifiesAslan

asalifebringer.Hebreathesonthepurewhite,marblelionandslowlycolorandlifespreads

untilheisaliveandwell.TheuseoffireinthedescriptionishelpfulbecauseAslan‘melts’away

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45

thestoneandalso‘melts’thesnowinNarnia.ThedeepfierygoldthatisassociatedwithAslan

immediatelyalludestothesun,whichalsodefeatswinterandbringsspringbacktotheworld.

TheWitchandAslanarecontrastedinanotherwayaswell:theWitchisassociatedwith

materialwealthandAslanisassociatedwithnaturalbeauty.Thefirsttimeweareintroducedto

theWhiteWitchsheisinasledgedrawnbybeautifulreindeerandshehasaservantwhodoes

everythingforher.“Shewascoveredinwhitefuruptoherthroatandheldalongstraightgolden

wandinherrighthandandworeagoldencrownonherhead”(2728).Sheis“covered”infurs

andhasa“golden”wandandcrown,whicharebothsymbolsofgreatwealth.Whenshegives

Edmundsomehotchocolateitispresentedinajeweledmugandtheboxoffoodwas“tiedwith

agreensilkribbon,which,whenopened,turnedouttocontainseveralpoundsofthebest

TurkishDelight”(Lewis32).TheWitchisassociatedwithextravagance;hotchocolate,which

usuallywouldbeservedinamugwasservedinajeweledgoblet.TheboxofTurkishDelights

wastiedwithsilkandtheTurkishDelightwasthebestthatcouldexist.Shelivesinahugecastle

andtravelsinabeautifulsledge.

ThelavishlifestyleoftheWitchisjuxtaposedwiththenaturalessenceofAslan.Aslan

doesnotwearanyclothingbuthisgreatmane.Hedoesnotownanypossessionsandthereisno

descriptionofwherehelives.Heisassociatedwithnature;thewealthandbeautythatheis

associatedwithisthatofspring.

Everymomentmoreandmoreofthetreesshookofftheirrobesofsnow.Soon,

whereveryoulooked,insteadofwhiteshapesyousawthedarkgreenoffirsorthe

blackpricklybranchesofbareoaksandelms.Shaftsofdelicioussunlightstruck

downontotheforestfloorandoverheadyoucouldseeablueskybetweenthe

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46

treetops.Comingsuddenlyroundacornerintoagladeofsilverbirchtrees

Edmundsawthegroundcoveredinalldirectionswithlittleyellowflowers…

(Lewis114).

Inthispassage,Aslan’spowershakesoffthesnowcoveroftheWitch.UndertheWitch’spower,

everythingwasthesame:“whiteshapes”.However,Aslanbringsbacktheindividualityand

diversityofthenaturalworld.Nowthegreenfirtreesandtheoakscanbedifferentiated.Thesun

beginstoshinebrightlyandactivelyaffectstheworldaroundit.Theskyceasesbeingagrey

voidandslowlythecloudsparttoallowthesunthrough.Therichnessofthenaturalworld

emergesandbeginstothrivebecauseofAslan’spresenceandslowly,theWitch’spowerbegins

tomelt.Throughthesedescriptionsandassociations,Lewisisabletodiscussthelargerthemes

ofthetext.

ImagesareessentialinunderstandingNarniainmanyways;theyweretheoriginofthe

world,theworldisbuiltthroughthem,andthemeaningofthetextisestablishedinimages.

TherearemanymeaningsbehindthestoriesaboutNarnia;themostfamousofthesebeingthe

ChristianallegorythatstemsfromAslan’scharacter.Inthisway,Narniaitselfisanimagethat

representsanotherbeliefsystem.“Iam[inyourworld].’saidAslan.‘ButthereIhaveanother

name.Youmustlearntoknowmebythatname.”(TheVoyageoftheDawntreader

).Thefaith

thatthechildrenfeelintheirloveforAslanisareflectionofhowpeoplefeelaboutJesus.Like

thepaintinginTheVoyageoftheDawnTreader

,Narniaitselfcanbeavehiclethatguidesthe

readertotheChristianfaith.ToLewis,Narniaisnotafictionalplace;itisimagination.Itisreal

inthewaythatReligionisrealtopeopleoffaith;itexistsbecauseyoubelieveitexists.Itisnot

realinaphysicalwaybutinaspiritualway.

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47

WhilethemeaningbehindMorriswasconservingtheessenceofmedievalromanceinits

ownbeautifulworld,Lewis’smeaningisestablishingaplaceofmagicalfaith.Inthisplace,good

andevil,natureandmaterialcanencountereachotherheadonandcharacterscanexplorewho

theyareforaninfiniteamountoftime.

OralityoftheStory

Lewisusesimagestoestablishthelawsoftheworldandtoemphasizeimportant

elementsoftheplot.However,thevisualnatureofthetextmayalsobestemmingfromanother

characteristicofLewis’swriting:storytelling.Thestorytellingnatureofthetextisimpossibleto

misswhenreadingTheLion,theWitchandtheWardrobe.

Thenarratordirectlyaddressesthe

audienceandusescolloquiallanguage.Inaddition,therearemanymoresubtlecharacteristicsof

thetextthatalsostemfromanoraltradition.

Therearetwoelementsofthistextthataddtothestorytellingnature:thelogicof

children’sliteratureandtheoraltraditionoffantasyliteratureasawhole.Fantasticalliterature

hasbeenaroundsincethebeginningofliteratureitself.Homer’stextswerefantasticalinnature

andincludedtypesofcharactersthatarepresenteveninmodernfantasy.Giants,dwarvesand

witchesarecharactertropesthathavebeenaroundsincebeforewrittenliteratureexisted.

Becausefantasyliteraturebeganasanoraltradition,therearestillcharacteristicsofthetextthat

arepresentfromwhenthesetypesofstoriesweretoldingreathalls.

Oneofthemaincharacteristicsoforalstoriesistheactionbasednatureofthetext.

“Thereisnothingtobackloopintooutsidethemind,fortheoralutterancehasvanishedassoon

asitisuttered”(Ong39).Whenoneishearingastorytold,thereisnowaytorereadapassage

thathasjustbeensaid.Becauseofthis,theplotcannotbelostinunnecessarydetailorelsethe

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48

audiencewouldforgetwhathadjusthappenedinthestory.TherearemomentsinTheLion,the

WitchandtheWardrobe

wherethetextisfocusedondetail,buteventhesedetailedsectionsare

focusedonaction.Thereareveryfewlongdescriptivepassagesthatarenotfocusedonaction.

ThepassagewheretheQueengivesedmundcocoaandturkishdelightisaprimeexampleofthis

phenomenon(quotedonpage40).

Eachverbinthepassageisanactiveverb,soeachsentencecontinuestheplotinasmall

way.‘TheQueentook’,‘sheletonedropfall’,‘ittouchedthesnow’and‘therestoodajewelled

cup...steaming’alladdtotheactionoftheplotthatdescribeshowtheWitchperformsthispiece

ofmagic.While,thepassageisfocusedondescriptionincludingwhatthemagicalobjectslook

like,themaindescriptionisactive.

However,thereareotherpassagesthatdescribeascenenotaneventandthesetendtobe

lessactive.WhenLucyfirstentersNarnia,Mr.Tumnusisdescribedingreatdetail:

HewasonlyalittletallerthanLucyherselfandhecarriedoverhisheadan

umbrella,whitewithsnow.Fromthewaistupwardshewaslikeaman,buthis

legswereshapedlikeagoat’s(thehaironthemwasglossyblack)andinsteadof

feethehadgoat’shoofs.Healsohadatail,butlucydidnotnoticethisatfirst

becauseitwasneatlycaughtupoverthearmthatheldtheumbrellasoastokeep

itfromtrailinginthesnow(Lewis9).

Thispassageismostlydescriptivebutalsokeepscomingbacktoaction.AfterMr.Tumnus’s

basicbodystructureisdescribed,thepassagefocusesonwhatheisdoingwithhistail.The

descriptionisnecessarybutthefocusofthepassageisthefactthatheiscarryinganumbrella

anddoesnotwanthistailtodraginthesnow.Theimportantandfantasticalelementsofthetext

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49

arenotsimplythewaythatMr.Tumnuslooksbutthewhatheisdoing.Thisisthecharmof

Narnia:thejuxtapositionoffantasticalandordinary.Thefauncarryinganumbrellaoratalking

beaveratasewingmachine.Thesamedelightfullymarvelousaestheticcomesfromtwoordinary

thingsbeingplacednexttoeachotherwheretheyusuallywouldnevermeet:alamppostinthe

middleofasnowywood.

Nexttoimagery,oneofthemostcharmingaspectsofTheLion,theWitchandthe

Wardrobe

isthestorytellinglanguageofthetext.Lewiswriteslikeheistellingastorytothe

audience.Thisischaracteristicofmanychildren’sstoriesbecauseitcanbereadoutloudeasily

andalsoitestablishesacharacterwhothereaderfollowsthroughoutthetext:anarrator.Having

anarratorisatechniquethathelpsthereaderengageinthetextandhelpsestablishthemesand

tropeswithinthistext.ThestorytellinglanguageofTheLion,theWitchandtheWardrobe

is

createdbyusingcolloquiallanguage,thesecondpersonpointofviewandinterjectionsbythe

narrator.

ThelanguageofLewis’stextisnotacademicorsophisticated;thisistypicalofchildren’s

literaturebecausetheaudiencemaynotunderstandcomplexvocabulary.Lewisconstructshis

sentencestosoundthewayhewantsthemtosound.InalettertoanotherauthorLewiswrites

“Everysentenceshouldbetestedonthetongue,tomakesurethatthesoundofithasthe

hardnessorsoftness,theswiftnessorlanguor,whichthemeaningofitcallsfor”(881).This

focusonthesoundofthewordsexemplifieshowLewis’swritingcaneasilybereadoutloud.

Evenwhensimplyreadingthetext,thesoundshouldaddtothenarrative.

TheattentiontoeasilyspokenlanguagealsoindicatesthatLewistoincludeyoung

children.Thecolloquiallanguagethatisusedinthistextisengaginganddelightful.Whenthe

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50

childrenfirstarriveatthehousetheybeginexploringandtheyfindsomeroomsthatwere“lined

withbooksmostofthemveryoldbooksandsomebiggerthanaBibleinachurch”(Lewis6).

Lewisuses‘very’agreatdealtoemphasizewhatheisdiscussingbecausechildrenmaynot

knowthemoreadvancedvocabulary,whichwouldallowhimtouseamorespecificword.In

addition,therearelittlemetaphorsandsimilesthataresimpleandwouldbeunderstoodby

anyoneofanyage.Thistypeofspeechistypicalofchildren’sliteraturebecausetheyhavea

smallervocabularyandmaynotunderstandcertainreferences.Forinstance,hereferstolarge

booksastheBiblenotEncyclopaediaBritannica.

Inadditiontothecolloquialvocabulary,thenarratorplaysanimportantroleinthe

languageofthetext.Thebookopensbyintroducingthechildren:“Oncetherewerefourchildren

whosenameswerePeter,Susan,EdmundandLucy.Thisstoryisaboutsomethingthathappened

tothemwhentheyweresentawayfromLondonduringthewarbecauseoftheairraids”(3).The

firstsentencesimplyintroducesthefourprotagonistsofthestory.Thesecondsentencebeginsto

establishtherelationshipbetweenthenarratorandthereaderbecausethenarratorcallsattention

tothestoryitself.Writing“Thisstoryisabout”automaticallytellsthereaderthattheyaregoing

tohearastory.Becauseastoryisbeingtold,someoneneedstobetellingit:thenarrator.By

bringingattentiontothestory,Lewisalsobringsattentiontothenarrator.Itisimportanttonote

thatthenarratorisintroducedafterthefourprotagonists.Thissetsthestandardforwhoisthe

importantinthestory;thenarratorisnotacharacterinthestorybutissomeonewhowillbeon

thejourneywiththereaderinsteadofwiththecharactersinthestory.

Shortlyafterthenarratorisestablished,theyhavetheirfirstinterjection.Whendescribing

thepeoplewholiveinthehousethatthechildrentravelto,thenarratorjumpsinwitha

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51

qualifyingstatement.“(TheirnameswereIvy,MargaretandBetty,buttheydonotcomeintothe

storymuch.)”(3).Thisstatementagaindrawsfocustothestorynatureofthetextandalsobegins

togivethenarratortheirownvoice.Throughoutthetextthereareinterjectionslikethisthat

slowlybuildthecharacterofthenarratorwithoutinterruptingtheflowofthetext.Inthis

instance,thenarratorisbeingpolite.Hemayhaveworriedthatitwasrudenottonamethe

servantssoheincludedtheirnamesbutwantedthereadertoknowwhyhehadthoughtit

unnecessarytoincludetheminthefirstplace.

Manyoftheseinterjections,liketheservant’snames,areusedtogiveextradetailsabout

thecharactersortheplot.Whendiscussinghowthechildrenreactedtoseeingtheprofessorfor

thefirsttime,thenarratormentionsLucyandEdmundsreactionsspecifically.Afterstatingeach

oftheirnameshequalifiesthemwithadiscussionoftheirage“Lucy(whowastheyoungest)

…andEdmund(whowasthenextyoungest)”(Lewis4).Thesequalifiershelpremindthereader

ofthenarratorwithouttakingawayfromtheplotofthetextitself.Theyalsofunctionasaneasy

wayforLewistointerjectimportantdescriptionwithoutjeopardizingtheflowofthenarrative.

Anotherwaythatthenarratormakeshimselfknownareinterjectionsthatarealittleless

descriptivebutstillbasedinthetext.Thesequalifytheactionsofthecharactersorgivethe

reasonswhytheydidwhattheydid.“(Shehad,ofcourse,leftthedooropen,forsheknewthatit

isaverysillythingtoshutoneselfintoawardrobe.)”(Lewis8).Thisinterjectionisamusing

becauseitisstatingtheactionsofoneofthecharactersbyreferencingapieceofcommonsense

thatanyreaderofthisbookwouldknow.Thehumoroftheinterjectioncomesfromthe

specificity,especiallytoamodernreaderwherewardrobesarelesscommon.Nowadays,itisnot

commonknowledgenottoclosethedoorwhenyouenterawardrobeand,possibly,itneverhad

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52

beencommonknowledge.ItisalsopossiblethatLewiswasemphasizingthispointtomakesure

thatchildrenreadingthistextwouldnotattempttofindNarniaandgetthemselvesstuckina

wardrobe.

Theseinterjectionsarealsousedtotellthereaderinformationabouthowthecharacters

arethinkingandfeeling.WhenMr.TumnusistellingLucytheterriblethingthathehasdoneto

ahumangirl,Lucyrespondsbutshedoesnotwanttohurthisfeelings:“(forshewantedtobe

truthfulandyetnottobetoohardonhim)”(Lewis18).Thistellsthereaderthatthenarrator

knowsalltheactionthatishappeningbutalsoisawareofwhatthecharactersarethinkingand

feeling.Thisimpliesthatthenarratorisomniscient,whichisimportanttoclarifywhencreatinga

narrator.Sincethenarratorknowseverythingthatishappeninginthestoryheisseparatefrom

thestoryitself.Ifhewerenotomniscient,hecouldbeseenasacharacterinthestoryandLewis

wouldhavetoclarifywhothecharacteris.

AnotherwaythatLewisestablishesthestorytellinglanguageisbyoccasionallyswitching

intothesecondpersonpointofview.Thereareafewinstancesofthisandittypicallyhappens

whenthenarratorissettingthescenefortheaudience.Oneofthefirsttimesthishappensis

whenthechildrenhavejustarrivedattheBeaverDam.“Andoutinthemiddle,andpartlyontop

ofthedam,wasafunnylittlehouseshapedratherlikeanenormousbeehiveandfromaholein

theroofsmookewasgoingup,sothatwhenyousawit(especiallyifyouwerehungry)youat

oncethoughtofcookingandbecamehungrierthanyouwerebefore”(Lewis65).Switchingto

the‘you’pronounisadirectaddresstotheaudience.Thisinvitesthereadertoimaginethatthey

arealsolookingatthisdamwiththechildrenandMr.Beaver.Thenarratorexplainshowthe

readerwouldfeellookingatthislittlehouseandwhatitwouldmakethemthinkabout.

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53

TheclearuseofstorytellingbyLewisisausefultoolforwritingchildren’sliterature

becauseitisasuccessfulwaytokeepthereaderengaged.However,thistypeofwritingisalso

alludingtothetraditionofstorytellingthatcanbetracedbacktoHomerandearlier.Thetradition

oforalstoriesiscomplexandintriguingbutoneelementoftraditionalstorytellingisthatthereis

alwaystheimplicationthatsomepartofthestoryistrue.Whetherthereisaclearmoralor

whetherthestoryisaboutalegendaryfigurewholivedatsomepoint,thereisusuallyakernelof

truthinstorytelling.ThisimplicationisverifiedbytheChristianallegorythatLewiscreatesin

thetext.Thetruth,forLewis,inhisstoryishisfaithinGodandfaithinthegoodnessofthe

world.

WhiletheChristianallegoryisLewis’struththatisnottheonlytruthfoundinNarnia.

Therearemanytruthstobeexploredinthistext,soifthereaderdoesnotconsiderChristian

valuesastruth,Narniadoesnotloseitssignificance.ItisimportanttoknowthatbeforeLewis

discoveredAslan,hesawafauncarryingparcelsinasnowywood.Themarvelousjuxtaposition

thatmakesNarniabeautifulcamebeforetheChristianideals.Whilethefightbetweengoodand

evilisanimportantthemeinthetext,itisnottheorigin.TheoriginofNarniawasthebeautyof

juxtaposingtheordinarywiththefantastic.

ReviewsandLetters

TheLion,theWitchandtheWardrobe

isaclassicchildren’sstoryandreadersknewthis

onlyafewyearsafteritwaswritten.In1952,inareviewofTheVoyageoftheDawnTreader

,

ChadWalshstatesthatTheLion,theWitchandtheWardrobe

is“destinedtobecomeamodern

fairytaleclassic”(“CaspianandReepicheep”).HethencontinuesbycommentingonNarnia

itself:“Onefindsastrongpoeticsenseandawarenessofthelovelinessandmysteryofauniverse



54

whichcannotbewhollygraspedbycommonsense”(“CaspianandReepicheep”).LikeMorris,

Lewis’sreviewersspecifythepoetryofhistext.Theideaofpoetrymaystemfromthesame

imagebasedfunctionalityasMorris’swork.WalshseemstounderstandLewis’sintentionwhen

hewritesthatNarniacannot‘bewhollygraspedbycommonsense’forcommonsenseisexactly

whatLewisisplayingwiththroughoutthetext.Lewis’suseofjuxtapositionthreatensthereaders

commonsenseandmakesthemsetitasideforthepurposeofthestory.Untilthereaderrealizes

this,theywillbestuckonforcingthelogicoftherealworldontothelogicofNarnia.While

muchofNarnia’slogicisbasedintherealworld,onecouldnotjustifyeverythingthathappens

accordingtothelawsoftherealworld.

Theauthorofafantasticaltextencounterstheissueofrealityinasimilarway:the

fantasticalworldcannotrepresenttherealworldtoomuchorthefantasyfallsapart.Inaletterto

JaneGaskellaboutherbookStrangeEvil

,Lewislistsaseriesofconstructivecriticismsfor

GaskellabouthowshebuiltherworldthatistellingabouthowLewisconstructedNarnia.“Ina

fantasyeveryprecautionmustbetakennevertobreakthespell...Butwhenyouaddupholstered

seats,lavatories,andrestaurants,Ican’tgoonbelievinginfaerieforamoment.Ithasallturned

intocommonplacetechnologicalluxury!(CollectedLetters

880).Thereseemstobeaspecific

balancethathastobemadeabouthowmuchandwhataspectsoftherealworldcanbebrought

intothefantasyworld.

Therearecertainpartsoftherealworldthatcannotexistinthefantasyworld.Forthis

reason,thereareargumentsthatthefantasygenrecanseemconservative.Thisisbecausethe

aspectsoftherealworld,broughtintofantasycannotbeinnovative:theyhavetobelong

established.Thisisoneofthereasonswhyfantasyistypicallymedivalistic.Becausethereal



55

elementsoftheworldarejuxtaposedwiththatofthefantasticalworld,therealaspectshavetobe

ingrainedinthemindoftheaudience.AgoodexampleofthisistherelationshipbetweenMr.

andMrs.Beaver.Thetwoanimalsarebeaversandtherefore,thereisnoreasonforthemto

inhabitatraditionalroleofhusbandandwife.Butitiseasierfortheaudiencetounderstandtheir

relationshipbecausetheyhaveheardstoriesabouttypicalheteronormativecouplesfortheir

wholelives.Anreadercanonlyfocusonacertainamountofnewideasatatime.Pushinggender

roles,byusingtalkingbeaverswhilethereaderisalsotryingtounderstandtheoverallplotina

worldtheydonotknow,wouldbetoomuchforthemtoprocess.ThisistrueforTheLion,the

WitchandtheWardrobe

especiallybecauseitisatextforchildren.

InalettertoW.E.Scudamore,Lewiswrites“Itisimpossibleforthewitofmantodevise

astoryinwhichthewitofanothermancannotfind,andquiteplausibly,anallegory”(877).

LewisandScudamorewerediscussingTheFaerieQueene

andScudamoreseemstohave

expressedanallegoricalinterpretationinalettertoLewis.Inthisquote,Lewisseemstobe

implyingthatanytextcanbereadasmanydifferentallegories,soheishesitanttobelievethat

anyparticularoneiscorrect.

ThisinteractionisamusingwhenrecallingthereviewsofMorris’swork.Morriswas

almostoffendedwhenitwassuggestedthathisworkwasanallegorywhileLewisbelievesthat

anytextcanbeinterpretedasallegory.Thisdifferenceinopinionisclearlydefinedintheirwork

whereMorriswasintentionallywritingatextthatwasdefinitivelynotallegoryandLewiswas

writingatextthatdefinitivelywas.



56

Conclusion

Thetwoforcesonthiswork,children’sliteratureandoraltradition,mergetocreatea

delightfullyclearnarratorandtext.Thenarratorvoiceseamlesslyguidesthemaincharactersand

thereaderfromthehumanworldtoNarnia.Thisoralitymakesthetextfeelauthenticandaddsto

theinherentvalueofthestory.Inthisway,thestorytellinglanguageofTheLion,theWitchand

theWardrobe

issimilartothewaythatMorrisusesarchaiclanguageinTheWoodBeyondthe

World.

Nostalgiaisausefultechniquetoinjectastorywithaestheticvalue.

Lewis’stextdiffersfromTheWoodBeyondtheWorld

inmanyways,themostimportant

beingthatwhileMorrisfocuseshisenergyonestablishingtheinherentbeautyandworthin

marvelsthemselves,Lewisuseshisfantasyworldtoexpressalargermeaning.Whiletheyboth

arereachingfordifferentgoals,theyusesomesimilartechniques.Theuseofimageryinboth

theirwritingissimilar.Bothauthorsuseimagerytoestablishthegreatertheme.Lewisalsouses

theimagerytoestablishthecharactersandthelargerplotthemes.Thedifferencebetweenthe

WitchandAslanisimportanttohisgranderconceptaboutgoodandevilbutitalsoestablishes

theconflictinthestory.

Lewisalsousesimagerytodefinetherulesofmagicandthejuxtapositionbetweenthe

humanworldandNarnia.Therulesofmagicareestablishedbyseeingeachcharacterperform

themagicthattheyarecapableof.Thejuxtapositionisestablishedthroughalltheimagesinthe

text:thisiswheremostofthefantasycomesfrom.ThesourceofNarnia’sdelightandfantasyis

Lewis’suseofjuxtapositionoftheordinarywiththeordinaryandtheordinarywiththe

fantastical.



57

ItisnecessarytonotethatwhileLewishasahighergoalinwritingthistext,thatthetext

doesnotsimplyexisttofulfillthatfunction.Mostofthefantasyandmagicinthistextdoesnot

addtotheoverarchingallegory.Ifitdid,thenthetextwouldnotbeentertainingforanyonewho

isnotChristian.However,thebeautyofLewis’smasterfuljuxtapositioninherentlypossesses

enoughvalueandworkonitsowntocarrythetextwithouttheallegoricalconcept.



59



Chapter3

WhenWeTaketheGreenfromGrassourMindAwakes



ItisunderstoodthatJ.R.R.Tolkien’swork,TheLordoftheRings

,canbeconsideredthe

originofmodernfantasy.However,itisnecessarytounderstandthattheterm“modernfantasy”

isinitselfredundantbecausethegenreandtheterm‘fantasy’hasbeenaroundfornomorethan

seventyyears.IntheOxfordEnglishDictionary,thefirstmentionofthewordinrelationtoa

genreofliteratureisthetitleofthemagazineTheMagazineofFantasyandScienceFiction

first

publishedin1949.ThemagazinewasfirstcalledTheMagazineofFantasy

,whichencompassed

allfantasticalliterature.Foritssecondissueitexpandedthetitletospecifythedifference

betweenfantasyandsciencefiction.Thisspecificationissignificantbecauseitwasoneofthe

firstpublicationsthatdefinedadifferencebetweenthetwogenres.

Indeed,thisgenrewasinessence,createdbyTolkien’swork.J.R.R.Tolkienwas

exceptionallyinfluentialtohisfuturepeersinthefantasygenre.Hismostimportantworkwas

publishedatthesametimethatthegenrewasbeingdefined.Tolkien’sworkspecificallyfalls

underthecategoryof‘HighFantasy’,atermthatwascoinedbyLloydAlexanderin1997.This

subgenreoffantasyismorespecificandrepresentsthetypeofsecondworldfantasywherethe

rulesoftheworldareconsistentbutnotthesameasthehumanworld.Thisisincontrastto‘low

fantasy’thatbringsmagicintothehumanworld.‘HighFantasy’beganwithMorrisbutwastruly

bornthroughTolkien.

Evennow,almostseventyyearslater,longform,medievalistworksofhighfantasyare

beingpublishedandpopularized.GameofThrones

byGeorgeR.R.Martinisanprominentbook



60

seriesthatinspiredaleadingtelevisionseries.Also,TheKingkillerChronicles

isathreepart

seriesbyPatrickRothfussthatiscurrentlypopular.Boththeseseriesfollowthesameformatas

TheLordoftheRings

.Theyaresecondworld,longformtextsthataresetinmedievallike

worlds.Clearlytherearedifferencesbetweenthethreetexts,butitisfascinatingthatsucha

specificformisstillpopularoverahalfcenturylater.

Tolkien’sfantasyworksarenotsimplyengaging;hisprocesswascomplexandbegan

withalinguisticexploration.TolkienwaswellversedintheAngloSaxonlanguageand

graduatedwithadegreeinEnglishspecializinginOldNorse.HewasaReaderofEnglish

LiteratureattheUniversityofLeedswherehewrotemanyofhistranslations.Hethenreturned

toOxford,wherehegainedhisundergraduatedegree,asaRawlinsonandBosworthProfessorof

AngloSaxon.ItwasduringthisprofessorshipwhenhewroteTheHobbit

.Tolkiencreated

multiplelanguagesandthroughtheiroriginshewasabletocompileanintricatehistoryofa

fantasticalworld:Middleearth.Thishistoryslowlymorpheditselfintowhatwenowknowas

TheHobbit

andTheLordoftheRings.

However,Tolkien’slinguisticskillsetwasnottheonly

sourceofhiswork;healsousedmanystoriesandmythstoinspiretheplotofhisbooks.Heused

orallybasedstoriesfromNorsehistory,whichhewaswellversedin,andAngloSaxontextslike

Beowulf

,whichhefinishedtranslatingin1926.

Unlikethefantasticalwritersbeforehim,Tolkienbuilttheworldanditshistorybefore

writingthebooksthemselves.Bybuildingthetextfromthegroundup,Tolkien’sworkhasan

intricatehistorybehindit.Thistypeofscholarlyapproachcreatesafantasticaltextthatismore

literatethananythathadpreviouslybeenwritten.Whiletheplotstructureandthebasicactions

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61

ofthetextstillfollowanoralnarrativearchtherearemanysectionsofthistextthatwouldnot

translateperfectlytoanoralstory.

ThelawsofexistenceinTolkien’sworldareevidentlydefinedthroughmanydifferent

mediums.WhileTolkiendoesusesomeofEnglishnormstocreatehisfoundationoflogic,he

doesnotdosotoamusetheaudience.Rather,heusesthefoundationoflogictohelpthe

audiencetounderstandthemorecomplexelementsoftheworldthathehascreated.The

juxtapositionthathappenswitheverydayrealityandfantasyinLewis’sworksarenotthefocus

ofTolkien’swork.EspeciallywhenthecharactersleavetheShire,theeverydayjuxtaposition

thatwasdelightfulaboutLewis,isignoredorglossedovertogivewaytothemoreimportant

aspectsoftheworld.

LikebothMorrisandLewis,imagesareimportanttoTolkien.However,theimportant

imagesinTolkienarerelatedtothehistoryoftheworld.Thestoryseemstobegininthemiddle

ofalargerpieceofhistory.Tolkiengivesenoughexplanationoftheworldsothattheaudienceis

notlost,buthedoesnotimmediatelydefinetermsthatthetypicalEnglishmenwouldnotknow.

ThismaycomefromthefactthatTheFellowshipoftheRing

isacontinuationofastorythat

TolkienwroteaboutinTheHobbit

butitseemsthatitservesagreaterpurpose.ThestoryofThe

LordoftheRings

seemstomimiclegendsasifthistextwereMiddleEarth’sversionofan

Arthurianlegend.Thehistoryisincludedfortheaudience’sbenefit,butthewaythatTolkien

writes,especiallyatthebeginning,seemslikeheexpectsthereadertoknowbasicinformation

abouttheworldlikewhatahobbitis.

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62

LawsofExistence

LikeLewis,Tolkienaddressesthenecessityofthelawsofexistenceinafantasticaltext.

Throughhisexplanationofhissubcreatortheory,Tolkiendescribeshowauthorscreatinga

SecondaryWorldneedtofollowasetoflogic.“Insideit,whatherelatesis‘true’:whileyouare,

asitwere,inside”(“OnFairyStories”132).Thistruthisnecessarytoestablishandcontinue

throughoutotherwisetheaudiencewillceasetobeengrossedinthestoryandwillbeforcedto

suspendtheirdisbelieftocontinuereading.Tolkien’stheoryofsuspensionofdisbelief,aterm

originallycoinedbySamuelTaylorColeridge,canbeunderstoodintwoways.Whenareaderis

investedenoughinthestorythattheyforgetthattheyarenotintheworldofthestory,thereader

hasnotsuspendedtheirdisbelief.However,TolkienusestheexampleofShakespeare’sMacbeth

toshowwhensuspensionofdisbeliefisnecessary.Itwillneverbetruethatanadult,educated

audiencewouldreallybelievethattheactorsonstagearetrulywitchescapableofmagic.Inthis

situation,itisnecessaryfortheaudiencetosuspendtheirdisbelieftofollowthestory.Thisis

whatbadSecondWorldstorymakersdo;theyputthereaderinapositionwheretheywould

havetosuspendtheirdisbelief.“Themomentdisbeliefarises,thespellisbroken;themagic,or

ratherart,hasfailed”(“OnFairyStories”132).

BecauseofTolkien’sneedtomakehisworldbelievable,Tolkienmakesthelogicofthe

worldperfectlyclear.Thisisevidentinthefirstchapter,whichdiscussesBilbo’sparty.

Throughoutthischapter,thereaderlearnsabouttheworldoftheshireandalsospecific

informationaboutthemaincharactersofthestory.Thefirstfewparagraphsintroducethereader

toBilboandFrodoanddetailstheirreputationintheShire.Heexplainstheirhistorywiththe

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63

SackvilleBagginses.ThroughthedescriptionofBilbo’spartyandeventsleadinguptoit,the

readerlearnsalotabouthobbitlife.

Hobbitsgivepresentstootherpeopleontheirownbirthdays.Notveryexpensive

ones,asarule,andnotsolavishlyasonthisoccasion;butitwasnotabad

system.ActuallyinHobbitonandBywatereverydayintheyearwassomebody’s

birthday,sothateveryhobbitinthosepartshadafairchanceofatleastone

presentatleastonceaweek.Buttheynevergottiredofthem(TheFellowship

35).

TolkienusesthesetypesofdescriptionsfrequentlyatthebeginningofTheFellowship

.

HedoesnotexplicitlydescribeimportantdetailsabouttheShireandtheworlditself,thoseare

learnedthroughcontextclues,butthesmallerdetails,likehowhobbitsdealwithbirthday

presents,areexplicitlyexplainedbytheauthor.

Therearemoregeneralaspectsofhobbitlifethatthereaderlearnsaboutthroughcontext

clues.Hobbitsareasmallpopulationofpeoplewhoareaversetochange,theyrarelytraveland

donotmuchcareforthenewsoftheworldaroundthem.Therefore,theyonlyeverhearrumors

ofwhatisgoingonoutsidethebordersoftheShireandwhentheydo,theydonotpaymuch

attention.Allthesecharacteristicsarerevealedtothereaderthroughafewdifferent

conversationsthatmostlyoccuratTheGreenDragon,thelocalbar.“‘Queerthingsyoudohear

thesedays,tobesure,’saidSam.‘Ah,’saidTed,‘youdo,ifyoulisten.ButIcanhear

firesidetalesandchildren’sstoriesathome,ifIwantto”(Tolkien53).Samandotherhobbits

whotalkaboutwhatisgoingonintherestofMiddleEarthareconstantlybrushedoffduringthis

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64

exchanges.Throughthisshortandsimpleconversation,thereaderlearnsagreatdealabout

hobbitlifeandhowthecharactersfunctionwitheachotherandwiththeoutsideworld.

Asthestoryprogresses,largertruthsandthemesabouttheworldstarttobedefinedby

Tolkien.TolkienbuiltMiddleEarththroughahistoryoflanguages,soitisnosurprisethat

wordsareundeniablyvitaltothewaytheworldfunctions.WhenGandalfthrowsFrodo’sgolden

ringintothefire,alineoftextslowlyappearsonthering.Gandalfexplains:“Thelettersare

Elvish,ofanancientmode,butthelanguageisthatofMordor,whichIwillnotutterhere”

(Tolkien59).ItisnotexplainedwhyGandalfchoosestonotspeakthelanguageofMordor,but

thisinteractionprovesthatspecificwordandspecificlanguagesholdpowerenoughtoworrya

mightywizard.

AnotherinstanceofwordsholdingpoweroccurswhentheFellowshipareontheir

journeyandtheyencounterthedoortoMoria.ThisisthefirstoccasionwhereGandalfdoesnot

seemtoknowexactlywhatisgoingon.Thegroupencountersariddlethatsays“Speak,friend,

andenter

”(TheFellowship

318).Gandalfinterpretsthis:“thesedoorsareprobablygovernedby

words...anywhoknewtheopeningwordcouldspeakitandpassin”(TheFellowship

318).This

isoneoftheinstancesinthetextwheremagicisnotinawizard'sstaffbutinaspecificword.In

thiscase,toenterMoriaoneneededonlytospeakthepassword.Thissceneemphasizesthe

powerofwordsinthistext,becauseitdistinctlyshowsthatwordscanproducemagic.Itisalso

importanttonote,thatcertainlanguagesseemtoholdmoremagicthanothers.Thecommon

tongue,whileitiswhatallthecharactersspeaktoeachother,doesnotseemtohavemuch

power.GandalffeltcomfortablespeakingtheprophecyofMordorinthecommontongueandat

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65

thegate,thepasswordneededtobespokeninElvish.Thepowerofancientlanguagesinthistext

isexplicitlyclearandlanguageiscrucialtothestoryarch.

ThelawsofexistenceforHobbitontendtobeshownthroughcontextandexamplesor

throughquickdescriptions.However,thelawsofexistencefortheworldasawholearegained

throughdifferenttechniques.Thereare,ofcourse,stillcontextcluesandshortdescriptionsbut

muchofthewaytheworldfunctionsistoldthroughlongdescriptionsofhistorybyworldly

beings.LikeLewis,Tolkienwasabletocreateamaincharacterwhowouldnotknowmuch

aboutthehistoryoftheworld,sothroughenlighteningFrodo,Tolkienisabletoenlightenthe

audience.Thistechniqueisadvantageous,becauseitkeepsthenarrativevoicefromhavingtodo

theexplainingandallowsthecharactersthemselvestoexplainthestory.“ItoldyouofSauron

theGreat,theDarkLord.Therumoursthatyouhaveheardaretrue:hehasindeedarisenagain

andlefthisholdinMirkwoodandreturnedtohisancientfastnessintheDarkTowerofMordor”

(TheFellowship

60).TheimageryinthissectiondefinesSauronasaterribleenemyofthegood

intheworld.Thisisthethefirstinstancewherethereaderisintroducedtothemainconflictin

thestory:theringandSauron.Immediatelyafterthisdescription,Gandalfgoesontoreferto

Sauronas“TheEnemy”.ThistellsthereaderthatthisbeingisagainstallofMiddleEarth,not

simplyonepersonorspecies.

UnlikeLewis,Tolkienestablishesalawofexistencemostlythroughthehistoryofthe

text.Heneverexplainsbehaviorormannerstothereaderbecausethataspectoftheworlddoes

notinteresthim.Instead,thefocusisonwhothecharactersareandtheirhistory.Thisis

exemplifiedwithhowmanyofthecharactersintroducethemselves.OnceFrodoleavestheShire,

mostpeopleareformallyintroducedwiththeirnameandthenameoftheirfather.AfterStrideris

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66

revealedtoactuallybeAragornheisreferencedfrequentlyas‘Aragorn,sonofArathorn’or

‘Aragorn,Isildur’sheir’.ThisistrueaboutothercharactersaswellsuchasGimli,whois

introducedas‘Gimli,sonofGloin’.Theseformaltitlesexemplifyhowdeeplythelawsofthe

worldareconnectedtotheirhistory.Eachpersonisnotmerelyanindividual,butanindividual

withagreathistoricalfamily.Aragorn’sfamilialhistoryisoneofthefocusesofthestory

becausehehascometotakehisthronebackfromtheStewards.

UsesofImagery

TolkienwasinspiredtowriteallhistextsaboutMiddleEarthbyonesentence.Inthis

sentence,istheimageofahobbitlivinginaholeintheground.“Inaholeinthegroundthere

livedahobbit.Notanasty,dirty,wethole,filledwiththeendsofwormsandanoozysmell,nor

yetadry,bare,sandyholewithnothinginittositdownonortoeat:itwasahobbithole,and

thatmeanscomfort”(TheHobbit

1).Thisopeningisdelightfulbutnotspecific;Tolkiendoesnot

explainwhatahobbitisorwhattheirhouselookslikebutahobbit’shomeisencapsulatedinone

word:comfort.Thisistheonlylookintoahobbitslifethattheauthorisgivingthereaderto

workoffof.Alltheseadventuresbeginswiththeimaginedcomfortofahobbithole.

Tolkien’sworldiscompletefantasy,soitisnecessaryforhimtohavedetailed

explanationstotelltheaudiencewhatcertainthingslooklike.WhenGandalfsetsofffireworks

atBilbo’sbirthdayparty,Tolkientakesthetimetodescribetheshowindetail.

Therewererocketslikeaflightofscintillatingbirdssingingwithsweetvoices.

Thereweregreentreeswithtrunksofdarksmoke:theirleavesopenedlikea

wholespringunfoldinginamoment,andtheirshiningbranchesdroppedglowing

flowersdownupontheastonishedhobbits,disappearingwithasweetscentjust

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67

beforetheytouchedtheirupturnedfaces.Therewerefountainsofbutterfliesthat

flewglitteringintothetrees;therewerepillarsofcolouredfiresthatroseand

turnedintoeagles,orsailingships,oraphalanxofflyingswans;therewasared

thunderstormandashowerofyellowrain;therewasaforestofsilverspearsthat

sprangsuddenlyintotheairwithayelllikeanembattledarmy,andcamedown

againintothewaterwithahisslikeahundredhotsnakes.(TheFellowship

3536)

Theauthordoesnotfeeltheneedtodescribetotheaudiencewhatafireworkisorhowitworks,

butitisnecessarytodescribewhatthespectaclelookslikebecauseTolkiencanbesurethatthe

readershaveneverexperiencedwatchingGandalf’sfireworks.Thedetailspresentinthispassage

describetheelementsofthefireworksthataremagic.Thespecificshapesandsensory

experiencesotherthansightareexplainedingreatdetail.

Thispassageismostlyfilledwithnaturalimagery;mostofthefireworks,whiletheactual

descriptionoffireworksisnottouchedon,createnaturalpicturesliketreesorrain.Thetypeof

fireworkthatcomesfrom“pillarsofcolouredfires”endupturningintoeagles,swansorships.

Thementionofshipsisthefirstunnaturalimagethatappearsinthispassage.However,thethree

imagesallseemtofeelthesame.Abirdinflightandasailingshiphavesimilarpatternsof

movement.Thissectionleadsintoamoreviolentlistofimages.Thereisathunderstormthat

rainsontheonlookers.Whilethisimageisnatural,itisviolentandloudincomparisonwiththe

restoftheimagery,whichareslowandunfolding.Thefinalimageinthepassageisaviolentand

unnaturalimageofspearsandabattlecry.Thisdangerousimageforeshadowstheeventual

violenceandwarthatoccurslaterinthetexts.EventhoughtheimageisofGandalf’sfireworks,

theviolentimplicationofthislastdisplayisthateventheShirewillnotbefreefromtheviolence



68

oftheworld.However,atthistimetheunsuspectinghobbitshavenoideaoftheevilthatis

growinginMiddleEarth

Thelanguageinthispassageemphasizesthemagic.Theimageofatree’sleaves

“openinglikeawholespringinamoment”isabeautifulandpoeticdescription,butit

emphasizesthemagicofthemoment.Thesefireworkswouldnotbefoundinthehumanworld:

thewaytheyaredescribedmakesthemseemalive.Theflowersofthetreessmelllikeflowers

andthebirdssingsongs.Thistypeofanimationoflightandsoundisacompleximageto

decipher.However,picturingthebeautyofthesefireworks,addstotheexcitementoftheparty.

Afterthismoment,thereaderunderstandswhythehobbitsweresoexcitedwhenGandalfshows

upwithhiswagon.Throughtheseimages,Tolkienisabletomanipulatetheaudienceintobeing

apartofthestory.Hehassucceededinmakingabelievableworld.

LikeMorris,Tolkienhasmomentsinhistextthatcouldfunctionlikeatapestryora

painting.WhenFrodoandtheotherhobbitsarriveatthehomeofTomBombadil,theyseethe

riverdaughterforthefirsttime.

Inachair,atthefarsideoftheroomfacingtheouterdoor,satawoman.Herlong

yellowhairrippleddownhershoulders;hergownwasgreen,greenasyoung

reeds,shotwithsilverlikebeadsofdew;andherbeltwasofgold,shapedlikea

chainofflagliliessetwiththepaleblueeyesofforgetmenots.Aboutherfeetin

thewidevesselsofgreenandbrownearthenware,whitewaterlilieswerefloating,

sothatsheseemedtobeenthronedinthemidstofapool”(TheFellowship

134).

Thisdescriptioncouldbeofaromanticerapainting;thewomanandsceneisperfectlydescribed.

However,Tolkienusesaspecificcollectionofmetaphorstodescribethiswoman.Ifreadata



69

glanceitwouldseemthatsheisinthemiddleofastreamandiscoveredinflowersandplant

life.However,Tolkienismerelyusingthisimagerytodescribewhatthewomanlookslike.Yet,

themetaphorsaresoclearanddistinctthatthefinalimagefallssomewherebetweenmaterialand

natural.Thisis“Goldberry,daughteroftheriver”(TheFellowship

134).Shebothexistsasa

humanesquewomanandariver,simultaneously.Themosthumanelementaboutherisherhair

butTolkienusestheverb“rippled”todescribehowitfallsdownherback.Throughthis

adjective,thehairautomaticallyassumesphysicalcharacteristicsofwaterandmoveslikeafluid.

Thenextdescriptionofhergownisdescribedasreedswithdew.However,thegownissoon

forgottenasthemetaphorbecomescharacterized.Thegownisdescribedasbeing“greenas

youngreeds”,butthenthereedsarethesubjectthatisbeingshotwith“silver,likebeadsof

dew”.Whilethismetaphorisdescribingthedress,thedressisnotthefocusorthesubjectofthe

sentence.

Thenextdescription,ofherbelt,followsthesamelogic;itrunsawaywiththemetaphor.

Thebeltisdescribedasgoldbutthefocusofthesentenceisthemetaphordescribingitsshape.

Again,thebeltisdescribedaslooking“likeachainofflaglilies”andtheseliliesarewhatareset

withblueforgetmenots.Inthisdescription,thereaderdoesnotevenlearnwhatthe

forgetmenotsaremadeoutof;theaudienceisonlyleftwiththemetaphor.Throughthis

phrasingandfocustheactualmaterialofthewomanandheroutfitisnotremembered,norisit

important.Instead,whatisretainedfromthispassagearethemetaphorsthatdescribethese

elements.

Tolkien’smasteryoflanguageisevidentinhowheblendsordinarythingswiththe

fantastical.InsteadofusingjuxtapositionlikeLewis,Tolkienblendsthelinebetweenfantasy



70

andordinarysothatnothingismerelyordinary.Fireworksareaphenomenonthatoccursinthe

humanworld,butGandalf’sfireworksaremuchmorethanahumanevent:thesefireworksare

almostalive.Inthesameway,Goldberry’sclothingisnotasimpledressbutisalsoariver.The

goldworkonherbeltwasmadeinasmithybutatthesametimeitisalsolivingflowers.

Thistypeofmagicalelementisalsotrueaboutlivingthingsthemselves.Thetreesin

MiddleEartharemorealivethanthetreesinthehumanworld.Overthecourseofthetrilogies,

theconsciousnessofthetreesincreasesuntilaforestbecomesanarmyandtheyfighttheorcs.

WhenthefourhobbitsareontheirwaytomeetGandalftheypassthroughaforestthathasa

terrifyingreputationinHobbiton.Thehobbitsslowlybegintofeelcomfortableintheforest

whentheystoptorestbyagreatwillowtreerightbytheRiverWithywindle.Thehobbitsbegin

tofallasleepbutSamwakesandrealizessomethingishappening.Theotherthreehobbitshave

beencapturedbythetree.Thereisnodescriptionofthetreemoving,butthehobbitsunderstand

whatishappeningquickly.MerryandPippinaretrappedinsidethetree,soFrodoandSamlight

asmallfireatthefootofthetreetoforceittoletthehobbitsgo.“Atremorranthroughthe

wholewillow.Theleavesseemedtohissabovetheirheadswithasoundofpainandanger.A

loudscreamcamefromMerry,andfromfarinsidethetreetheyheardPippingiveamuffled

yell”(Tolkien128).Upuntilthispoint,thelivingandmovingofthetreewasonlyexpressedin

whatthehobbitsweresaying.ThehobbitscommentedonwhatthetreewasdoingbutTolkien

didnotdescribewhatwashappeningdirectly.Thispassageisthefirstmomentwhenthe

animationofthetreeisdescribed.Thetree“shudders”andtheleavesseemtomakeasoundof

anger.



71

ThistypeofdescriptionisalmostoppositetothedescriptionofGoldberrybecausethe

magicissubtle.Whenmagicisactuallyhappening,Tolkiendoesnotdrawattentiontoit.This

makesthemagicsomewhatordinary.Thecharactersarefocusedonthedangerratherthanthe

movingtree,sotheconsciouselementofthetreeseemsnatural.Thispassageemphasizesthe

blendingofthenormalandmagicalthathelpsTolkienbuildaworldthatisfullybelievablebut

quitespectacularandfantastical.

OralityoftheStory



ThroughTolkien’sancientlanguagespecialty,hewasabletobuildMiddleEarthfrom

thegroundupbeginningwiththelanguages.Throughtheevolutionoftheselanguages,Tolkien

begantodevelopthehistoryoftheworlditself.Becauseofthewayhebuilttheworld,itwould

beimpossibleforTolkien’sstorytonotacquiremanyliteraryelements.Theworlditselfisbased

inlanguageandliterariness.However,therearestillmanyelementsofthetextthatstemfroman

oraltradition.

 While,unlikeLewis,Tolkiendoesnothaveaspecifiednarratorcharacter,thereisa

narrativevoicethatdoesdescribeelementsoftheworldtothereader.

Therewererumoursofstrangethingshappeningintheworld

outside...Elves...couldnowbeseenpassingwestward...theywereleaving

Middleearthandwerenolongerconcernedwithitstroubles.Therewere,

however,dwarvesontheroadinunusualnumbers...somespokeinwhispersofthe

EnemyandoftheLandofMordor.Thatnamethehobbitsonlyknewinlegends

ofthedarkpast,likeashadowinthebackgroundoftheirmemories;butitwas

ominousanddisquieting”(TheFellowship

5253).



72

Thispassagedefinesthescopeofthenarrator.Becausethenarratorknowswhatthehobbitsare

thinkingandwhattheywhisperabout,itisclearthatthenarratorisomniscient.UnlikeLewis,

thisnarratordoesnotseemtohaveadistinctpersonality.Thereisanelementofdramatowhat

thenarratorissaying,anunderlyingsenseofdoom.However,thereisnospecificcharacteristics.

ItdoesnotseemlikeTolkienintendedthenarratortobeacharacterandformostofthetext,the

narratordoesnotengagewiththereaderatall.Thenarratorsimplyactsasabeingofknowledge

whenoneofthecharactersinthestorycannot.

Mostofthehistoryoftheworldistoldbycharactersinthestory.Gandalfplaysthispart

oftenandthroughhisdiscussionswithFrodo,thereaderlearnsmuchofwhattheyneedtoknow

ofthehistoryoftheworldtounderstandthedangerFrodowillface.Lewisusedanarratorasa

storytellerinTheLion,theWitch,andtheWardrobe

,butmostofthestorytellinginThe

FellowshipoftheRing

happensthroughcharactersinthestory.WhenGandalfistellingFrodo

aboutwhathappenedwhentheDarkLordroselasttime,hebecomesastorytellerwithinastory:

“IfIweretotellyouallthattale,weshouldstillbesittingherewhenSpringhadpassedinto

Winter.ButLastnightItoldyouofSaurontheGreat,theDarkLord.Therumoursthatyouhave

heardaretrue”(TheFellowship

60).GandalftellsFrodoaboutwhathasbeenhappeninginthe

outsideworld,andtellshimthesignificanceofBilbo’sring.Inthisway,Gandalftakestheplace

ofthenarratoranddetailswhatisgoingonintherestoftheworld.Gandalfspeakswithcertainty

aboutwhathappenedduringthelastbattlebutthenhequalifieshisstory:“Oneday,perhaps,I

willtellyouallthetale,oryoushallhearittoldinfullbyonewhoknowsitbest”(The

Fellowship

61).Inthisway,TolkienclarifiesthatGandalfdoesnotknoweverythinginits

entiretyandthatheisstillacharacterinthestory,andnotomniscient.



73

Tolkienuseselementsofstorytellersinhiswork,evenifthereisnotaspecific

storytellingcharacter.However,thereareotherelementsoforalstoriesthatneitherMorrisnor

LewisusethatTolkienincorporatesintohistext.Oneoftheseelementsisverse.Therearemany

qualitiesthatversehasthatmakeitperfectfororalstorytelling,themeterandrhymescheme

makeitmuchsimplertomemorize.Mostancientstoriesthatsurvivetodaywerewritteninverse

becausethestorytellershadtomemorizethemratherthanreadthem.“Inaprimaryoralculture

tosolveeffectivelytheproblemofretainingandretrievingcarefullyarticulatedthought,you

havetodoyourthinkinginmnemonicpatterns,shapedforreadyoralrecurrence”(Ong34).

Verseisaperfectexampleofthis;thespecificmeterandrhymeschememakeitmemorableand

easytorecite.Thispatternalsomakesiteasytoemphasizecertainwordsandphrases.Other

techniquescanbeaddedtoversetomakeiteveneasiertomemorizelikealliterationand

repetition.Tolkienusesversebothtoinstilimportantinformationinthereaderandalsoto

emphasizeimportantmomentsandcharacters.

VerseispresentintwoinstancesinTolkien:prophecyandsong.Thesepiecesoftextare

writteninversefortwodifferentreasons.Prophecyiswritteninversebecauseitissomeofthe

mostimportanttextoftheentirebook,boththecharactersandthereaderneedtorememberit.

Also,thistextneedstosoundancientandpowerfulbecauseitisthecoreofthestory.Oneofthe

mostfamouspropheciesfromthistextisabouttheringsofpower:

ThreeRingsfortheElvenKingsunderthesky,

SevenfortheDwarflordsintheirhallsofstone,

NineforMortalMendoomedtodie,

OnefortheDarkLordonhisdarkthrone



IntheLandofMordorwheretheShadowslie.

OneRingtorulethemall,OneRingtofindthem,

OneRingtobringthemallandinthedarknessbindthem



74

IntheLandofMordorwheretheShadowslie.(TheFellowship

5960)

AsectionofthisprophecyappearsontheoneringthatFrodopossesses.ThisprovestoGandalf

thatFrodo’sringisindeedtheOneRingthattheprophecymentions.Thisprophecyhasa

rhythmicpatternandarhymescheme.Thefirststanzafollowsabasicrhythmicpatternwhereall

thelinesexceptthethirdhavethesamemeter.Thelastlinehasonelesssyllablebutthereisa

pauseimpliedaftertheword“Lord”thatmakesupforthemissingsyllable.Therefore,thereisa

significantpauseaftertheword“die”,whichthendrawsthefocusandaddsmorbidity.Theother

rhymingpairisalongsyllableof“stone”and“throne”,whichbothsoundheavyandfinal.The

firststanzaisdarkeventhoughthereisametertoit.

Thesecondstanzafollowsmoreexactrules.Thefirstandlastlinearetheexactsameand

sharemeterwiththefirst,second,andfourthlinesofthefirststanza,connectingthetwostanzas.

Thisisemphasizedbythefactthatthefirstiterationofthislineisacontinuationofthefirst

stanza.Thiscontinuationconnectsthetwostanzas,butbecauseofthewaythattheprophecyis

visuallylaidoutthelineseemstostandonitsown.Therepetitionofthislineemphasizesits

significance.ThisisoneofthefirsttimesinthestorythereaderistoldaboutMordor,which

endsupbeingFrodo’sdestination.Therhymingcoupletinthemiddleofthisstanzaisalsovital

anditisemphasizedbythestructureofthepoem.Thesetwolinesstandalonefromtherestof

thepoemformultiplereasons;therhymeschemeconnectsthem,theyarebookendedbythe

sameline,andtheyhavetwodistinctmeteredphrases,whichareseparatedfromtherestofthe

poembyanindent.Inthetextitself,thisphraseisrepeatedbecauseGandalfreadsitoffthering

andthenrepeatstheprophecy.Thisstructureemphasizestheimportanceofthiscouplet.



75

Thestructureofthisprophecymakesiteasiertorememberthantherestofthetextinthe

book.Theprophecytellsthestoryoftheringsofpowerandhowtheyrelatetoeachother.These

ringsarethecoreofthestorybecausetheyarehowSaurongainedcontrol.Thereaderneedsto

rememberthesignificanceoftheringtounderstandtherestofthestory.Therefore,thisstoryis

toldoverandoveragain,andthelanguageismemorableverse.Theothertimesverseisusedis

whenthecharacterssingsongs.OneoftheseinstancesiswhenthehobbitsmeetTomBombadil.

TomBombadilisacharacterwhoisnotfullyexplainedinthetext.WhenFrodoasks

Goldberryabouthimshesimplyreplies“Heis”.Shethencontinues:“‘Heis,asyouhaveseen

him,’shesaidinanswertohislook.‘HeistheMasterofwood,water,andhill.’”(The

Fellowship

163).Thisisoneofthemomentswhereamarvelisexplainedjustenoughforthe

readertobeabletofollowtheplot,butnotwellenoughforthereadertofullyunderstandwho

TomBombadilis.Histitle“theMaster”seemstobemoreauthoritativeanddauntingthanTom

is.Tomisashort,stoutmanwhoisconstantlysinging,andyethehaspoweroverthewhole

forest.

BeforethehobbitsmeetTomBombadil,theyhearhim.WhileFrodoandSamare

strugglingtogetMerryandPippinoutofthetree,thehobbitshearsomeonesingingseeming

nonsense:

Heydol!merrydol!ringadongdillo!

Ringadong!hopalong!fallalthewillow!

TomBom,jollyTom,TomBombadillo!

(TheFellowship

156).

Thissongbothmakesthehobbitsnervousandhopefulbecauseitmeanssomeonecanhelpor

someoneiscomingthatcouldharmthem.However,itturnsouttobeTomBombadilwhois



76

exactlythepersonwhomtheyneededforhelp.ThesongthatTomsingsseemslikegibberish.

However,Tommentionsthewillowinthissongsoitseemsasthoughheiseitheronhisway

thereorknowsthatthewillowisuptosomething.Thistypeofrhymingsongissungmultiple

timesbyTomandbecomesassociatedwithhim.Thisrepetitionwouldhelpthereaderremember

thisverseandTomhimself.ThisisinterestingbecauseTomdoesnotplayalargeroleinthe

story.

WhileTomisnotimportanttotheoverarchingplotofthestory,heseemstobeimportant

totheessenceoftheworldthatTolkienisbuilding.Tomisafascinatingcharacterwhoseemsto

haveincrediblepowersthatthereaderdoesnotgettosee.Heismasterovertheentireforestand

cancontrolbeingswithhiswords.Tolkienshowsthereaderonesmallmomentthatbeginsto

expresstheextentofhispower.Tomusesmerelyhiswordstocommandthewillowtorelease

MerryandPippin:“‘Youletthemoutagain,OldManWillow!’hesaid.‘Whatbeyouathinking

of?Youshouldnotbewaking.Eatearth!Digdeep!Drinkwater!Gotosleep!Bombadilis

talking!’HethenseizedMerry’sfeetanddrewhimoutofthesuddenlywideningcrack”(The

Fellowship

158).WhileTomseemstohaveamazingpowers,thewaythathespeaksissimple

andheseemstohaveanunsophisticatedaccent.“Whatbeyouathinkingof”hasafew

grammaticalerrorsthatarecommonincertaindialectsthathavetypicallybeenassociatedwith

pastoraltraditions.Theuseoftheword“be”insteadof“are”characterizeshimaspastoralrather

thanurban.Also,wordslikeathinkingareassociatedwithagrarianpeoplewhoknowledgeis

embeddedintheland.

TomBombadilandGandalfseemtohavesimilarpowerswheretheycancommunicate

withanimalswhocannotspeak.Theyalsobothusewordstoexpresstheirpowersandspells.

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GandalfuseswordstocastspellsandTomuseswordstokeephispoweroverthewood.

However,unlikeGandalf,TomspeakssimpleandunsophisticatedEnglish.Hispowerdoesnot

comefromintellectualvocabularyorstudy,hispowercomesdirectlyfromtheland.WhileTom

doesnotnecessarilyplayanimportantpartinthestory,hischaracterisattheheartofwhatThe

LordoftheRings

implies.TheconceptmentionedearlieraboutTolkienusingjuxtaposition

betweenrealandfantasytobuildhisworldistrueaboutTom.Tom’scharacterisincredibly

powerfulbutmostofthetimetheaudiencedoesnotseethat;theysimplyseeashort,stoutman

livingintheforest.

Tom’scharacterdoesnotplayanimportantroleintheplotbuthedoesplayanimportant

roleinthefoundationoftheworlditself.ThemostpowerfulcharactersinthestoryareGandalf,

Elvesandevilbeings.However,itishintedthatTomisaspowerfulassome,ifnotallofthem,

buthispowerisnotinintellectualknowledge.TheElvesareasophisticatedsocietythatlivesin

abeautifulcivilization,whichtheyhavebuiltforthemselves.Muchoftheirpowercomesfrom

intellectualknowledgeandsenses.Gandalf’spowerissimilartothisbecauseheseemstohave

learnedmuchofit.Inaddition,Gandalf’spowerisconnectedtohisstaff,whichhecarries

aroundwithhim.However,becauseofthewaythathespeaks,itseemsthatTomBombadilis

notintellectual.Hispowerdoesnotcomefromastafforahoardofknowledge.Tom’spower

seemsintricatelyconnectedwiththelandforheisthe“Master”oftheforest.Thisconnection

impliesthatnotjustthecreaturesintheworld,buttheworlditselfhassomekindofpower.This

isalsoreflectedinthebehaviorofthetrees.Thepoweroftheworldisasubtlebutintrinsically

importantelementofthewaythatMiddleearthfunctions.Whilethismaybetrueofother

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fantasytexts,itisvitallyimportantwhendiscussingtheworldofTolkienbecauseheusesitasa

foundationoftheworlditself.

Tolkien’stextuseselementsfromliterarytraditionandoraltradition,butunlikethe

writersbeforehim,heusesoralityasatooltorevealinnatequalitiesofandconnectionsbetween

hischaractersandtheworldaroundthem.ThisawarenessisanotherwaythatTolkien’sworkis

moresubtleandscholarlythanotherfantasyworksbeforehim.Heisawareofthewaythat

fantasyfunctionsandisabletousethosecharacteristicstoemphasizedifferentaspectsofhis

world.

ReviewsandLetters

OnOctober31st,1954,W.H.AudenpraisedTolkieninareviewofTheFellowshipof

theRing

.HediscussesthestorybutspecificallynotesthewaythatTolkienfoundedsome

elementsinEnglishlife.“Hobbits,whomaybeonlythreefeethigh,havehairyfeetandpreferto

liveinundergroundhouses,butintheirthinkingandsensibilityresembleverycloselythose

arcadianrusticswhoinhabitsomanyBritishdetectivestories”(“TheHeroisaHobbit”).Auden

impliesapossibleconnectionwithdetectivestories,whichmaynotbeaccurate;however,he

acknowledgesTolkien’suseofEnglishinfluences,whichprovesthatthiselementofTolkienis

crucialtounderstandingthetextasawhole.

AudenalsonoticestheinfluencesofnorthernsagasinTolkien'swriting:“Landscape,

climateandatmospherearenorthern,reminiscentoftheIcelandicsagas”(“TheHeroisa

Hobbit”).ThispassageshowshowinfluentialmythologywastoTolkien’swriting.TheVolsung

sagaisoneofthetextsthatmostinspiredTolkienwhenhewaswritingTheLordoftheRings

.

ThispassagealsohighlightstherelationshipbetweenTolkienandAudenbecausethirteenyears

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afterthisreviewiswritten,TolkiensendsAudenanexcerptofatranslationthathehadworked

onoftheVolsungssaga.“Ihopetosendyou..athingIdidmanyyearsagowhentryingtolearn

theartofwritingalliterativepoetry:anattempttounifythelaysaboutthevolsungsfromthe

ElderEdda,writtenintheoldeightlinefornyroislagstanza”(CollectedLetters

379).Thistext

waspublishedpostmortembyTolkien’ssonChristopherTolkien.ItiscalledTheLegendof

SigurdandGudrún

andwaspublishedin2009byHarperCollins.

AudencontinuesandexpresseshowsuccessfulTolkienwaswithmakingtheworld

believable.“Ofanyimaginaryworldthereaderdemandsthatitseemreal...Mr.Tolkienis

fortunateinpossessinganamazinggiftfornamingandawonderfullyexacteyefordescription;

bythetimeonehasfinishedhisbookoneknowsthehistoriesofhobbits,elves,dwarvesandthe

landscapetheyinhabitaswellasoneknowsone'sownchildhood”(“TheHeroisaHobbit”).The

conceptofliteraturethatseemsrealisrepresentedintheconceptofverisimilitude,which

encapsulatestheideaofsomethingseemingliketruth.Theimpliedconnectionbetween“real”

andmeticulousthatAudenacknowledgesemphasizestheaspectoffantasythatTolkien

practicallycreated.Thevasthistoricalsignificance,languagesandotheraspectsoftheculture

wereexhaustivelyestablishedandworkedthroughbeforeTolkienevenbegantowriteabout

FrodoandBilbo.Itseemsasthoughthestoryofthetextswasbornfromthisextensiveresearch.

Thislevelofdetailhadnotbeenaccomplishedbyfantasywritersbefore,butnowTolkienhasset

thestandardforfuturewritersofHighFantasyinparticular.

Inanotherreview,OrvillePrescottwritesadmiringlyaboutthelanguage,worldand

marvelsbuthecriticizestheworkasawhole.“Thisisaremarkablebook,butitisfarfroma

completelysuccessfulone.Itgrowstedious”(“BookoftheTimes”).ThecriticismthatPrescott

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80

givesisthatthebookasawholedrags.Hebelievesthatthecharactersdonothaveenoughto

sustaintherestofthetext.OneofhisbiggestcriticismsisthatofFrodowhois“painfully

unheroic”.

Inaddition,PrescottbringsbackathemethatwaspresentinbothMorrisandLewis’s

works:allegory.Inthelastsentenceofhisintroduction,Prescottwrites:“Itprobablyisan

allegory,also,foritcontainsplentyofpersonagesandeventsthatcaneasilybeinterpreted

symbolically”(“BookoftheTimes”).Morrisstruggledwitharevieweroverthistypeof

accusation.InMorris’smind,ifthetextisnotclearlyanallegorytheniteitherisnotallegoryor

thewriterhasfailed.Clearly,PrescottdoesnotfeellikeTolkien’sworkwassuccessful,butthat

wasnotbecausealackofclearallegory.Therefore,ifMorrisisrightthenthetextmustnotbe

allegory.

UnlikeMorris,Tolkiendoesnotreferenceanyreviewsinhisletters.Mostoftheletters

thatwerecollectedwereaddressedtohisson,Christopher.WhenTolkiendiscussesTheLordof

theRings

inhislettershetypicallyisdescribingwhathasrecentlyhappened.Tolkienhasa

tendencytospeakaboutthetextandthecharactersasifhehasnocontroloverthem.Inaletter

writtentohissonTolkienwrites:

Anewcharacterhascomeonthescene(IamsureIdidnotinventhim,Ididnot

evenwanthim,thoughIlikehim,buttherehecamewalkingoutofthewoodsof

Ithilien):Faramir,thebrotherofBoromirandheisholdingupthe‘catastrophe’

byalotofstuffaboutthehistoryofGondorandRohan(withsomeverysound

reflectionsnodoubtonmartialgloryandtrueglory):butifhegoesonmuchmore

alotofhimwillhavetoberemovedtotheappendiceswherealreadysome

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81

fascinatingmaterialonthehobbitTobaccoindustryandtheLanguagesofthe

Westhavegone”(79).

Inthissection,FaramirseemstohavemorecontroloverthestorythanTolkienhas.Heseemsto

becontrollingthe‘catastrophe’,theexacteventTolkienisreferencingisunclear.Itmaybe

Frodo’sentranceintomordor.Faramirispreventingthiseventwithhisendlesschatter.This

givessomeinsightintohowTolkienwasabletocomeupwithsomuchcontentandsucha

detailedhistoryinboththetextandtheappendix.ThisalsoshowsthatTolkienisnotfocusedon

theplotofthestory,infactwhenhementionstheplothehastypicallybeguntoveerofftopic

andisexplainingordiscussingsomethingthatdoesnotrelatedirectlytotheplot.Thistypeof

writingseemstohaveaddedimmenselytothemeticulousdetailofMiddleearthforeachnew

characterbringsmorehistorywiththem.

ThewaythatTolkiendiscusseshischaractersispresentthroughouthisletters.Inanother

letterhewrites:“OnthewholeSamisbehavingwell,andlivinguptorepute.HetreatsGollum

ratherlikeArieltoCaliban”(Tolkien77).Thispersonificationofcharacterscirclesbacktothe

innateideathateverythinginhistextisbothordinaryandfantastic.Tolkiendiscusseshis

charactersliketheyarealiveandhehasnocontroloverthem,andyethealsodiscusseshowhis

writingprocessisgoingandtellshissonwhatisgoingtohappennext.Tolkien’sblendingofreal

andfantasticbleedsfromhisstoryintohiswritingprocess.

Conclusion

Tolkien’slawsofexistenceareclearlydefinedinhistextandaremeticulouslydetailed.

Tolkienspentcopiousamountsoftimeworkingthroughthehistoryandlanguagesof

Middleearth.Therearemomentswhentherulesoftheworldaredirectlyexplained,butmostof

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82

thelogicoftheworldisgainedthroughtheexperiencesofthecharactersandthelonghistorical

descriptionsoftheworld’scomplicatedhistory.Thehistoryistoldbycharactersinthestory

ratherthananarrator.Thischoice,makesthetextmorefocusedontheworldthantheplot.

Throughthistechniqueandotherways,Tolkienusestheoralnatureoffantasytoestablish

elementsoftheworld.

ThewaythatTolkienusesimageryseemstobeanevolutionfrombothMorrisand

Lewis.Morrisusedimagerytoestablishtheinherentworthofmarvelsandsohisimagerystood

onitsownanddidnotaddtotheplotoragranderidea.Lewis’simagerywasusedasatoolto

establishthejuxtapositioninthestoryandcreatedthefantasticthroughthisimagery.Tolkien

thenusedtheseformsofimageryandmeldedthehumanworldandthefantasticalworldinto

eachother.TheimagesinTolkien’stextareacombinationofthefantasticandreal.Inthisway,

Tolkienusesadifferenttechniquetousetherealworldashisfoundationoflogic.Insteadof

placingfireworksinanabnormalsetting,likeLewiswould,hetweakstheinherentnatureof

fireworks,makingthemfantastic.

Becauseofhisscholarlyapproach,Tolkienseemstouseelementsoffantasyconsciously

toestablishtheworldhewantsclearlyanddistinctly.LikeMorris,Tolkienisnotnecessarily

focusedontheplotofthetext,thoughhesucceedsinmakingitclear.Tolkienismorefocusedon

theworlditself.Thisisevidencedbytheamountofappendicesthathewrote,whichmostlydoes

notdirectlyrelatetothespecificplotofthetrilogy.ThegoalofTolkien’stextwasnottowritean

entertainingstorybuttosuccessfullyfulfillhissubcreatordesiresanddevelopabeautifuland

valuableworld.ThisiswhatOrvillePrescottwasmissingwhenhereadTheFellowshipofthe



83

Ring

,theplotisnotperfectbecausetheplotisnotthepoint.Thepointistheelationthatonegets

whenexercisingtheirimagination.



85



Conclusion

ModernFantasy101:ImaginationUnlimited



ThepurposeofthisprojectistodemonstratetotheacademiccommunitythatModern

Fantasyisworthyofstudyandexploration.IbecamealiteraturemajorbecauseIaminlovewith

stories:storiesthatmakeyouloserealitybecauseoftheirbeautyanddetermination.SometimesI

canfindthesestoriesinthehistoricalorrealisticfictionsectionofthelibrarybutmostlythey

existinfantasy.However,whilethesetextsaremypassionIwasnotgiventheopportunityto

incorporatethemintomylearningexperience.ItookeveryclassIcouldthatapproachedthis

topic:Shakespeare,NewDirectionsinContemporaryFiction,PostFantasy,Fabulismandthe

NewGothicetc.ThelastofwhichistheclosestIcametostudyingthetextsthatIlove.Inall

fouryearsatBard,therewasnotasingleclassthatinvestigatedthetextsthatIwishedtostudy.

Thisprojectwasmywaytopresenttotheacademiccommunitythatnotonlycouldthesetextsbe

addedtotheacademiccannonbuttheyshouldbe.Thebestwaytoprovethiswouldbeto

demonstratehowthistypeofliteraturecanbetaughtandunderstoodinanacademicsetting;

therefore,welcometoModernFantasy101:ImaginationUnlimited.

Overthedurationofthesemesterwewillbereadingmultiplefantasyworksaswellas

criticalessaysandothersecondarysources.Themajortextswillinclude:SirGawainandthe

GreenKnight,

TheWellatWorld’sEnd

byWilliamMorris;TheLion,theWitchandthe

Wardrobe

byC.S.Lewis;TheFellowshipoftheRing

byJ.R.R.Tolkienaswellasexcerptsfrom

TheNameoftheWind

byPatrickRothfuss.WewillalsobereadingexcerptsfromHomer’s

Odyssey

,TheFaerieQueene

byEdmundSpenser,Beowulf

,TheLegendofSigurdandGudrun



86

translatedbyTolkien,andMaryShelley’sFrankenstein.

Thecriticismwewillbereadingwill

include,butnotlimitedto,essaysfromTheMonstersandtheCritics:AndOtherEssays

by

J.R.R.Tolkien,OfOtherWorlds

byC.S.Lewis,AdamBede

byGeorgeEliot,“Defenseof

Poetry”byPercyShelleyandothers.Overthecourseofthissemester,wewillinvestigatehowto

analyzeafantasticaltext,whattolookforandthetechniquestheauthorsuse.

Forclasstoday,Ihadyouread“OnFairyStories”byTolkien.Tolkiencloseswith

discussingthejoythatcomesfromreadingfantasy.Hewrites“Probablyeverywritermakinga

secondaryworld,afantasy,everysubcreator,wishesinsomemeasuretobearealmaker,or

hopesthatheisdrawingonreality:hopesthatthepeculiarqualityofthissecondaryworld(ifnot

allthedetails)arederivedfromReality,orarefallingintoit”(155).Hethencontinues“The

peculiarqualityofthe‘joy’insuccessfulFantasycanthusbeexplainedasasuddenglimpseof

theunderlyingrealityortruth”(155).Doesthejoyoffantasycomefromaglimpseofthe

nonfantastic?Doesthedelightoffantasystemfromsmallusesofthetruth?Fantasymaynot

needrealitytoexist,butdoesitneedrealitytobeenjoyed?Theanswerstothesequestionsare

neitheryesnorno.

ThevalueoffantasystemsfromitsuseofimagerycreatedbytheimaginationasTolkien

discusses.Therefore,atitscore,fantasyisseparatefromreality.However,theenjoymentof

fantasymaynotbeseparatefromreality.Someonecanenjoyreadingfantasybecauseitis

differentthanrealityortheycanenjoyreadingfantasybecauseitpresentspossibilitiesthatmay

notexistinreality.Unlikeothergenres,thebeautyoffantasyliesintheimage:alamppostinthe

middleofawood.Now,Iaskyou,doesthebeautyofthisimagecomefromthepossibilityofthe



87

worldinwhichthisexistsordoesitcomefromthejoyofseeingtwoimagesthatyouarefamiliar

withplacedtogetherinawayyouhaveneverseenbefore?

Inthisclasswewillanalyzedifferenttechniquesusedtocreatefantasticalworlds.We

willdiscussModernFantasy’srelationshipwiththeoraltradition.Wewillanalyzetheauthor’s

useofimagesintheirtextsandwewillcompilealistofqualitiesnecessarytomakeafantastical

worldsuccessful.Afteracknowledgingthebeautyinherentinthesefantasticaltextsand

understandingthemasteryneededtosuccessfullycreateoneofthesestories,onequestionkeeps

risingtothesurface.Throughoutthesemester,wewillstrivetoanswerthisquestion:isfantasy

enjoyablebecauseitisanalternativetorealityorbecausethroughfantasyweglimpse“the

underlyingrealityortruth”oftheworldwelivein?



89

FiguresReferenced



Figure1:WoodPrint:frontpieceofTheWoodBeyondtheWorld

byWilliamMorris.ImagedesignedbyMorrisand

printedatKelmscottpressin1894.



90



Figure2:WoodPrint.Chapter9pg.52ofTheWoodBeyondtheWorld

byWilliamMorris.Imagedesigned 

byMorrisandprintedbytheKelmscottPress1894.



91



Figure3:OilonCanvas.Ophelia

byJohnWilliamWaterhouse1910.



92



Figure4:Illustration.EdmundmeetstheWitch

byPaulineBaynes1950.



93

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